


Far From Home

by Kittycatgirl113



Category: The Hobbit, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Genre: Action, Adventure, Agh Goblins, Awkward Meetings, Azog leave us alone, Bilbo and his adorable ness, Elves will be elves, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gandalf becoming dad, Gandalf saves the day, He will eventually im sure of it, Lord elrond is fond of hobbits, No azog, Poor Bilbo, Rock man fights, Seriously Pale orc, Sexism, So many tags, Tags May Change, Teasing, These tags are not in order, Thorin and his oak branch, Thorin stap being mean, Wargs are no fun, almost forgot about the trolls, and then there were eagles, arsehole thorin, chapters, fire pinecone bombs?, frustratingly a lot of sexual tension, in this age Yeah, is that momma jude and honey booboo?!, kili doesn't get women, more sexism, not good at tagging, or clean for that matter, or nah, or something like it, seems effective, sorry about the angst, sorry if you have ocd, still adorable though, that sexual tension though, the parasites joke though, uncle doesn't approve, whats with the bird poop on that guy, where did bilbo go, who knew dwarves could sing?, why wargs why?, wizards are perfect, yay fluff!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-02-07 08:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 34,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1892232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittycatgirl113/pseuds/Kittycatgirl113
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You are a hobbit from the shire and Bilbo's best friend. So when you hear that Bilbo is going on an adventure with 13 dwarves and a wizard, who were you to let him do it alone? (THIS IS A KILI AND READER LOVE STORY, DONT BE CONFUSED)<br/>- ALSO I DONT OWN THESE CHARACTERS, THIS MOVIE, OR YOU (well I do own you, but that sounds weird)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Party at Bag End

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic, so play nice please! I tried to make this as close to the movie as possible, but I may have to change things along the way ;) like if I do DoS, tauriel's existance, for that matter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some backstory, gandalf, cute bilbo, and you! Prepare, the ships are coming (oh wait wrong fandom)

Everybody knew what happened all those years ago in Erebor. It was a story you had heard when you were a child, still, the tale had found its way to wivel bag into your mind each night. Making you wonder where the dwarves truly went. Are they happy and content now? Did they ever forgive? Did they ever forget? Those questions would be answered the very next day.

You yawned and stetched in the cushy matress you called a bed, it was early morning, almost time for coffee and breakfast. Light streamed in from the window, lighting up your home. You lived in a hole in the ground just like everyone else did. But these weren't ordinary holes, filled with dirt and worms. No, this was a hobbit home. Beginning your morning routine, you check the time on your grandfather clock, ironically, you got it from your grandfather. It was 7 am, time to start on the chores. After sweeping, laundry, dishes, mopping, dusting, and sweeping again, you looked at the clock again. 7:30. You sighed and then continued on to make breakfast for two: Sausage, scrambled eggs, ham, pancakes, bacon, and a sliced orange for each plate. You covered both plates and used your body to open the door.

The refreshing morning air brought the smell of flowers and gardens to your nose. You inhaled deeply and turned to face the road, covered platters in hand. The morning sun had just begun to rise over the lush green hills. A bright smile was brought to your face as you started down the road, a small skip to your step. You knew exactly where you were headed, the same place every morning. You had met your best friend Bilbo at your friend's wedding, the two of you hit it off well. Many thought that you were going to get married, but despite their rumors, both you and Bilbo saw eachoth as siblings. About a year ago you had begun bringing him breakfast everyday. It was a sweet gesture, and in return Bilbo would feed you dinner. You spent almost all of your time together, just as siblings did in the Shire. However, you and Bilbo seldom bickered as siblings did. That was a benefit to being friends. 

You had almost reached his house and froze in your tracks. There he was, sitting out on the bench in front of his house. He was smoking his pipe weed and waiting for you like he always did, but there was someone in front of him. Bilbo looked just as confused as you were, puffing on his pipe and looking around periodically. The man in front of him was human, or at least he looked like it. Mainly because he was over twice a hobbit's height. He was clad in grey robes, a big floppy grey hat, even his hair and beard was grey. The only difference was that his walking staff was brown. You furrowed your brow and watched as Bilbo stood up and grabbed his mail. He puffed on his pipe before beginning to head back inside. You took quicker steps towards his house and crouched in a bush beside his house. You set the warm platters down and listened in on the conversation now, peeking around the bush occasionally.

"To think I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took's son, as if I were selling buttons at the door," You heard the older man say, Bilbo stopping and turning around.

"Beg your pardon?" He responded, confused.

The older man continued, "You've changed, and not entirely for the better, Bilbo Baggins."

Bilbo replied, mildly offended, "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Well you know my name," the older man explained, "although you don't remember I belong to it. I'm Gandalf, and Gandalf means," he paused as if he wasn't sure. "Me." He ended awkwardly.

You peek around the bush to see a lightbulb go off in Bilbo's head, "Gandalf, not Gandalf, the wandering wizard who made such excellent fireworks! Old Took used to have them on midsummer's eve. Ha ha! Well, hmm, I had no idea you were still in business."

The wizard seemed puzzled as he asked, "And where else should I be?"

"Ha ha," Bilbo laughed, "Hm, hmm.." he puffed confused on his pipe again.

You watch as the wizard, Gandalf, spoke, "Well I'm pleased to find you remember something about me, even if it's only my fireworks." He nodded once to himself, "Well it's decided. It will be very good for you, and most amusing for me. I shall inform the others."

Bilbo raised his eyebrows and began to ramble, "Inform the who? What? No. No. No! We do not want any adventures here, thank you. Not today, not-mm. I suggest you try over the hill or across the water," he gestured with his pipe frustrated towards gandalf, "good morning." He retreated into Bag End. Gandalf took a few steps up to the door, and put the base of his staff to it. You gasp as you see him draw a glowing symbol in the door. You watch as a curious Bilbo peeks through the window, then jump back as Gandalf peeks through the same window. You jump back and try to stay hidden as Gandalf hurries in your direction.

It was to no avail as you look up to see the wizard standing over you disapprovingly. You begin to stammer, "Please don't turn me into a snail, or frog, or-"

Gandalf interupted you, "I will do nothing of the sort. Now stand up, young lady."

You tried to hide your embarassment as you stood, looking up at him, "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, I didn't mean anything by it. I just always see Bilbo in the morning and-"

The wizard cut off your ramble again, "Are you a lover of Mr.Baggins?"

"W-What? No, just friends," you state, picking up the two breakfast platters. Thankfully, they were still warm.

"Hmm," Gandalf hummed thoughtfully before a friendly expression warmed his face. "You Hobbits are quite light on your feet. No matter, carry on with your day." He took a strand of super curly hair away from your face and turned from you. He continued on the path, leading out of the Shire.

You sighed in relief and continued up the steps to Bilbo's house, what an unusual morning. With an effort, you knocked on the door. From the inside you could hear an agravated Bilbo approaching calling, "I have already told you I don't want any adventures h-" he stopped as he opened the door.

You raised your eyebrows, "No adventures, eh? Well then, can you settle for breakfast instead?"

Bilbo sighs and relaxes at the sight of you, "Of course, come inside." He gestures inward and you pass him shyly, making your way to the dining room. After setting the plates on the table you lift their covers, listening to Bilbo inhale in delight. "Sorry about that thing at the door, I had a visitor this morning."

You silently loved how Bilbo didn't consider you a visitor before, to him you were family now. "I know," you responded.

"You know?" Bilbo inquired as the two of you sat down for breakfast. His face changed as he realized it, "you were hiding and listening, weren't you?"

"Maybe," you replied as you put a forkfull of ham into your mouth.

He gave you a look. "Curiousity will be your downfall, you know that?" He said as he began to eat. Both of you were quiet as you finished breakfast. "Thank you, this was lovely," he said appreciativly as he picked up his plate.

"It's a relief, I thought I had burnt the eggs, to be honest," you replied as you picked up your own. Both of you traveled to the sink, where you washed up the platters.

"Nonsense, you did great as usual," he assured and you beamed at him.

"So what do you want to do today?" You inquired as you dried the platters, setting them aside.

"Hmm," Bilbo clucked his tongue, "I didn't have anything planned for the day."

You looked disappointed as you dried your hands. "Well I am positive we will come up with something."

Bilbo dried his hands as well and looked around, "We could go on a walk," he suggested.

You chuckled, "We did that yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that."

"I like walks," he stated and shrugged.

"As do I," you linked an arm through his, "so shall we?"

He smiled and the two of you continued outside. You looked back at the shut door, and noted the blue glowing mark. But as you opened your mouth to tell Bilbo, you realized something very odd: the words wouldn't come out of your mouth. Literally, no sound came out. You shut your mouth puzzled, then it hit you. The wizard! He must of vexed you! "Something the matter?"

"Nope!" You chirped, the two of you were headed into the woods. "What five letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?" You asked, him smirking.

"That's too easy, short." He replied, the two of you loved riddles, and you swapped them often during walks.

You scoffed, "Fine then, it's your turn."

He looked around, "Poor people have it, rich people need it, if you eat it you die, what is it?"

Your lips pursed puzzled as the two of you strolled. You clapped your hands together ad you answered, "Nothing!"

"Heh, okay your turn," he nodded.

"You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside." You stated. 

He swallowed and looked around confused. After a couple minutes he laughed, "Silly me, its corn on the cob, isn't it?"

You groaned, "okay your turn."

Bilbo smiled, "What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?"

After a minute of thinking you shook your head, he had stumped you. "What is it?"

He looked over at you and smiled, "The letter M."

You almost kicked yourself for not knowing, "Why do you always win?"

"Well I AM older," he pointed out.

You couldn't help but roll your eyes, "So that instantly makes you better at riddles?"

Bilbo shrugged, "Makes me more experienced in some departments."

Scoffing, you nudge him, "What ever you say, old man," He looked at you annoyed, and after a moment of silence, both of you began laughing like idiots. Your chest racked and it became hard to breath.The two of you were laughing so hard that you stopped to bend over. Tears pricked the corners of your eyes and you blinked them away as you composed yourself. Once both of you had come back to your senses, you relinked arms and continued walking. 

You two had strolled for miles by the time you had reached Hobbiton again. He nodded in the direction of the village, "So what do you say? Think it's time for second breakfast?"

Giggling, you nodded, "it does feel like that time of day." Joyfully, the two of you made your way back into Hobbiton. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You spent all day with Bilbo, reading books, making food, and helping tend the garden. He had just finished preparing dinner. "Can I look now?" You plead for the hundreth time, eyes hidden under a blindfold made from a hankerchief.

You listened as two plates clinked down, one in his spot, and one in front of you. "Now you may," he consented. You didn't need to be told twice, you tugged the blindfold off and stared down to see what he had prepared. It was a fish dish, perfectly cooked. "Oh it looks unbelievably good," you complimented. Both of you had tucked in a hankerchief and salted your fish. You both had just begun to squeeze lemon juice onto the morsel when the doorbell rang. You jumped and dropped the lemon, startled, while he froze. Both Bilbo and you looked up at each other, then at the door.

"I will be right back," Bilbo assured, you nodded and he left toward the door. You couldn't see, but you could hear. 

You heard the door click open and a deep throaty voice say, "Dwalin, at your service."

Bilbo made a quiet noise like a whimper, the same noise he usually made when he was shell shocked. He had made the same noise one time when he had walked in on you in a bath. He swore he hadn't seen anything, but you knew better. "Bilbo Baggins, at yours." You listened as clumpy footsteps entered the house. "D-Do we know each other?"

The deep voice answered rudely as if Bilbo was stupid, "No. Which way, Laddie. Is it down here?"

"I-is what down here?" Bilbo asked coming out of his shocked state.

You heard heavy things hit the ground and being tossed to Bilbo before the man replies, "Supper. He said there'd be food, and lots of it."

"H-He said? Who said?" You heard Bilbo ask as the man came into view. He was a dwarf, with a head that was bald around the top, but thick hair sprouting from just above his ears. He also had a beard that came up and connected with the top of his hair. He was stout and covered in thick armor as he entered the dining room. 

The dwarf ignored his question and instead asked, "And who is this young lady? He said there would be food, but not entertainment."

You looked bewildered, and not to mention a little scared. Bilbo responded for you, "Oh s-she's not for... Touching."

"Pity," was all the dwarf, Dwalin, said before spotting Bilbo's plate. "Ah there it is."

Bilbo walked across the dining room and rested on the counter. You shared a confused glance as Dwalin gobbled down Bilbo's food. He shoved the plate aside and gestured to your plate. "You going to eat that, Lassie?" You shook your head and pushed your plate to him and watched him devour that as well. "Mmmmm. Very good, this. Any more?"

Bilbo, taken by suprise, looks around. "Uh, oh, y-yes." He grabbed a plate of biscuits, and brought them to Dwalin. Quickly, he hid one behind his back. "Help yourself." Dwalin took the plate and began stuffing biscuits into his mouth. 

You stood up from the table, moving closer to Bilbo. Bilbo tried to be polite as he explained, "Mmmm, it's just that, um, I wasn't expecting company."

Just after he spoke the doorbell rang again. Both Bilbo and you looked up in alarm. "That'll be the door," Dwalin said glaring at Bilbo. This time, you went with Bilbo to get the door. He offered the biscuit to you, but you shook your head and he ate it.

Outside stood another dwarf, this one was your height, and had white hair and a large white beard. He looked much friendlier and had a lighter voice, "Balin. At your service." He proceeded to bow with arms swept wide as he said the second half of his greeting. You could only assume Dwalin had done the same thing. 

Bilbo replied, "Good evening."

Balin looked around for a moment saying, "Yes, Yes it is." Without permission, Balin stepped into the house. "Though I think it might rain later." He stepped up to the two of you, you half hidden behind Bilbo. "Am I late?"

Bilbo was just as puzzled as you were. "Late for what?"

Just then Balin turned to see Dwalin, who was struggling to get more biscuits out of a jar. You hid a smirk as Balin started towards the dining room. "Oh ha ha! Evening, Brother. Heh heh."

Dwalin grinned as he replied, "Oh, by my beard, you are shorter and wider than last we met." Dwalin set the jar down to face Balin.

"Wider, not shorter," Balin corrected, "sharp enough for the both of us."

Both of you watched in wonder as they greeted each other. They put their hands on each other's shoulders and smashed their heads together. Bilbo shook himself from his trance and stepped forward, you following close behind. Hesitantly, Bilbo confronted them, "Um, excuse me. Sorry, I hate to interupt, ah, but the thing is, I'm not entirely sure you are in the right house." Dwalin and Balin ignored Bilbo and went into Bilbo's pantry, where they began pouring ale and examining the food. 

Dwalin asked Balin, "Have you eaten?" 

As they talk to each other, Bilbo continued, "It's not that I don't like visitors. I-I like visitors as much as the next Hobbit, but I do like to know them before they come... visiting."

The dwarves ignored Bilbo again as they rifled through the pantry. Balin pointed to something and said, "Ah, that looks very nice indeed." He continues to pick up a small block of cheese.

"What's this?" Dwalin asked, gesturing to the cheese in Balin's hand.

"I don't know, erm, cheese?" Balin answered.

Bilbo continued, "The thing is, um-" 

While Bilbo spoke, Balin continued on about the cheese, "It's gone blue."

Dwalin shaked his head, "It's riddled with mold." He took the hunk from Balin's hand and tossed it backwards, you and Bilbo ducking to dodge it.

Bilbo continued once again, "The thing is, um, I, I don't know either of you, not in the slightest. I don't mean to be blunt, but I uh, I had to speak my mind." He held his hands up. "I'm sorry."

Both dwarves were in mid sentence, but stopped to look at Bilbo. Dwalin responded, "Hm. Apology accepted."

Bilbo and you sighed in exasperation. Balin spoke to Dwalin as he handed him a tankard, "Ah, now fill it up brother, don't stint. I could eat again, if you insist."

The doorbell rang again. Bilbo looked at you and you shook your head, eyebrows raised in apology. You exhaled before saying, "I'm going to change. Apparantly we are going to have company whether we want it or not." 

He swallowed and nodded, "Of course." You walked with him to the door, but as Bilbo stopped, you continued on towards the bedroom. You only stopped because you could hear Bilbo moan in distress. You looked behind yourself as you could hear two more voices come from outside. 

"Fili," one said.

"Kili," said the other.

Simultaneously they said, "At your service." 

The second one, Kili, said, "You must be Mr. Boggins!"

You giggled, then turned and hurried towards the bedroom as Bilbo started to shut the door saying something like, "Nope, you can't come in, you've come to the wrong house."

You practically ran and shut the bedroom door behind you, sighing in relief. This was overwhelming, and you couldn't leave Bilbo to deal with it himself. That's why you had to be quick. You practically ripped the skirt and shirt off of you, they had gotten dirty while you were gardening. Walking to the wardrobe, you opened it as you could hear Bilbo call, "That's my mother's glory box, could you please not do that?!"

Thankfully, you had a stache of clothes at his house, as he had one at your house. It was for whenever you two came home drunk from a party and the other would pass out on the couch. You prayed for your nice dress and sighed in relief as you found it. You had worn it to a neighbors birthday party, half of the Shire had been invited. Bilbo promised that one day he would hold a party that big himself. The dress was form fitting, complimenting your curves, it was a deep royal blue and flowed beautifully. It was a gift from your mother. You slipped into the dress and ran hands through your curly hair as you took it down. Lucky for you it was being cooperative and smoothed out, your curls adding volume. 

You listened as the doorbell rang again. Followed by a very annoyed Bilbo yelling that there wasn't anybody home. Afterwards, you listened as the door opening and what sounded like people falling. After picking up your clothes you shoved them into the wardrobe and hurried back into the hallway. Your eyes widened as you saw the home had been crowded with dwarves, twelve to be exact. Finally you saw Bilbo in front of the pantry, telling people to put things back. But everyone was ignoring him. Bilbo called out to random dwarves, "Those are my plates! Excuse me, not my wine. Put that back, put that back! Not my jam, please." You looked down to see the floor tracked with mud and dirt, your lips twisting into a frown briefly.

You looked up to see a rather large dwarf coming out of the pantry with three large cheese blocks. Bilbo gestured to the cheese, "Excuse me, a tad excessive, isn't it? Have you got a cheese knife?" You began making your way to your best friend. 

A dwarf with a large hat shook his head at Bilbo, "Cheese knife? He eats it by the block."

Finally you reached Bilbo and you grabbed his arm. He turned aggravated and relaxed slightly when he saw you. "Why are there so many?" You hissed below the noise.

"Gandalf," Bilbo replied. You nodded in understanding, of course it was him. These were the 'others' he was referring to. Bilbo turned to see two more dwarves carrying Bilbo's antique chairs into the dining room. "No, no, that's Grandpa Mungo's chair! No I'm sorry, you'll have to take it back. Its an antique. Not for sitting on! Thank you!" He turned to see more dwarves, "That's a book, not a coaster. Put that map down, thank you!"

He looked pretty busy at the moment, so you turned to help in any way you can, in this case, you went to talk to the person who brought all these barbarians into the house. It didn't take long, he was much too tall and had to bend over. You put your hands on your hips as you strode up to him."Mr. Gandalf!" You yelled, he looked around before a dwarf walked up to him with a tray of tea.

"Excuse me, Mr. Gandalf, can I tempt you with a nice cup of chamomile tea?"

Gandalf looked to him, "Oh no thank you Dori. A little red wine for me, I think." He exited the dining hall, trying to avoid the scurrying dwarves, you right on his heels.

"Gandalf!" You called up, but it was drowned out by the dwarves eating the pantry clean.

He looked around and hit his head on the chandelier. He groaned in pain and then began to count the dwarves, "Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Dwalin, Balin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori," he dodges another dwarf, "Ori." 

"Gandalf," you called up again, just in time for a dwarf with an axe in his hand to stride up to Gandalf. 

He spoke to him in a different language and with hand motions, Gandalf nodded, "Yes, you're quite, Bifur, we appear to be one dwarf short." He couldn't be serious, MORE dwarves?

"Gandalf," you say sharper, but Dwalin speaks before you, distracting him again.

"He is late, is all. He traveled North, to a meeting of our kin. He will come." 

"GANDALF!!!" You all but scream, silencing everyone in the room, finally achieving his attention. The dining room noise came to a halt for mere seconds before they continued. You looked around to see Dwalin raising an eyebrow, and two young dwarves carrying a keg had paused. One was blonde and the other was brunette. Both stared at you, the brunette's eyes wide and his mouth open in slight awe. 

The blonde one shook him from his trance, "Come on now Kili, let's not keep them waiting." Kili dispatched his gaze and looked behind him as they exited.

You turned your attention up to Gandalf, who raised his eyebrows, "What is it, little one?"

"What's with all the barbarians?" You gestured around to the dining room.

"Oh you will find out soon enough," he assured.

Before you could get another word in, the dwarf Dori returned with red wine, handing it up to Gandalf. "A little glass of wine as requested,. It's, eh, got a fruity bouquet."

"Ah. Cheers." Gandalf toasted the little glass. You rolled your eyes and looked towards the dining hall. Everyone seemed to be having a grand time.

"Bombur, catch!" The dwarf with the hat called and tossed some food in the direction of the one who ate the large cheese blocks. The big dwarf, Bombur, caught the food in his mouth and every one errupted into cheers. Soon everyone began throwing food across the table. You tried to hide a smile, until you saw Bilbo turn away in disgust. You attempted to make your way to him, but the room was too full.

You watched sadly as he disappeared into the pantry, no doubt to see what he had left. By the looks of the table, it wasn't much. The young blonde dwarf carried multiple cups of ale, he stepped onto the long table and began walking across it, knocking food aside as he went. "Who wants an ale?" He handed one off, "There you go."

Dwalin gestured to himself. "Let him have another drink!"

"Here you go!" The blonde one said eagerly, handing Dwalin an ale. Dwalin poured some of his drink into another dwarf's hearing trumpet. The dwarf sputtered in annoyance, but everyone else laughed. He blew into the trumpet and ale went everywhere, making the device squeal. "On the count of three!" The blonde dwarf yelled.

Someone counts, "One! Two!" And everything goes quiet, aside from the gulping of everyone's ales. Almost all the dwarves are messy, with alcohol running down their faces and into their beards. Finally, when they are finished drinking, they begin burping. The smallest dwarf, named Ori, brings out the loudest burp.


	2. The King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorin arrives X) then of course there is the scene with the key, and horray for sexism (not) lets not forget the actual ship in this story is starting!!! Drunk Fili and eavesdropping are an added bonus

Now that the meal was finished, the dwarves began to leave the table, and walk about. You finally catch up to Bilbo outside the dining room in the hall, who was taking a doily away from the dwarf called Nori. "Excuse me, that is a doily, not a dish cloth."

The dwarf with the hat, Bofur, called "But it's full of holes!"

"It's supposed to look like that it's crochet," Bilbo explained.

Bofur mistook the word, that or he was drunk, "Oh and a wonderful game it is too. If you got the balls for it."

Bilbo looked like he wanted to hit his head against the wall. "Bebother and confusticate these dwarves!" 

You placed a hand on his shoulder, he looked over to it and covered it with his own. Shortly after, you were joined by Gandalf. "My dear Bilbo," he asked, "what on Earth is the matter?"

Bilbo turned to face Gandalf, your hand falling from his shoulder. "What's the matter? I am surrounded by dwarves. What are they doing here?"

Gandalf looked hurt for the dwarves, "Oh, they're quite a merry gathering. Once you get used to them." Nori and Bofur began a tug of war with linked sausages, making their way to the dining hall with the rest of the dwarves.

Bilbo watched them go, "I don't WANT to get used to them!" He gestured around the house as he spoke. "The state of my kitchen! There's mud trod in the carpet, they've pi-pilaged the pantry." He started walking down the hall to the other entrance to the dining room. "I'm not even gojng to tell you what they've done in the bathroom; they've all but destroyed the plumbing." He turned around exasperated and put his hands on his hips. "I don't understand what they are doing in my house!"

You looked down as Ori walked up to Bilbo with an empty plate. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to interupt, but what should I do with my plate?"

You jumped as you felt someone bump into you from the side. You look over to see that it is the youngest dwarf, the brunette, Kili. Right as the two of you meet eyes you hear the blonde dwarf, presumed Fili, over by Bilbo and Ori. He reaches over Bilbo to take the plate from Ori. "Here you go, Ori, give it to me."

"Duck," Kili warned. Before you could ask why, Fili hucked the plate at us. Thankful for your reflexes, you ducked and Kili caught the plate, whirling and tossing it to Bifur in the dining room. Before you could react, dishes was flying throught the air, Fili and Kili at both entrances to catch any strays and tossing them back in. You knelt near Kili's feet, while Gandalf ducked to avoid getting hit from dishes being tossed from Fili to Kili. 

Bilbo began to react, "Excuse me, that's my mother's West Farthing crockery it's over 100 years old!" He turned to the dining table, where some of the sitting dwarves began rhythmically drumming on the table with utensils and fists. "And can-can you not do that? You'll blunt them!"

You could hear Bofur call out, "Oooh, d'hear that lads? He says we'll blunt the knives!"

You looked up to Kili, who had begun to sing, soon after Fili, along with other dwarves joined in as they continued throwing all kinds of dishware around. 

"Blunt the knives, bend the forks,  
Smash the bottles and burn the corks,  
Chip the glasses and crack the plates,  
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!  
Cut the cloth and tread on the mat,  
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat,  
Pour the milk on the pantry floor,  
Splash the wine on every door!  
Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl,  
Pound them up with a thumping pole,  
When you're finished if they are whole,  
Send them down the hall to roll!"

Bilbo was struggling to get into the dining room to see the state of his dishes as they finished the song. Kili had left your side to join his kin, and you joined Bilbo's.

They finished the song, all yelling, "That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" 

You and Bilbo pushed into the dining room to see all the dishes cleaned and stacked on the table. The dwarves were laughing, some were enjoying more ale. Bilbo sighed in relief and exhaustion and looked at Gandalf who merely shrugged. You couldn't help but smile at the lot, it was a clever trick. A silence fell upon everyone as three loud knocks came from the door. Everyone looked over to the door. It was quiet, save for Gandalf who uttered, "He is here." The wizard made his way around dwarves and started to the door. You started winding your way around, dwarves whistling at you.

You stopped next to Bofur and Kili, tugging on Bofur's armor you asked, "Forgive me, who exactly, is here?"

Bofur turned back to look at you and smiled, "Why, the King under the mountain, Lassie."

"What's your name?" Kili inquired, making you look over at him.

You opened your mouth to respond, though it was Dwalin who answered, "Don't bother, she belongs fo Master Baggins. He said she wasn't for touching."

Kili and Bofur both hummed in disappointment. You finally got the nerve to speak up to these dwarves, "I am not owned by anybody, thank you, Dwalin."

He raised a thick eyebrow as you heard the person outside enter. He continued talking to Gandalf, "I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it at all had it not been for that mark on the door." He had a deep voice, but not scratchy, he had raven hair flowing down past his shoulders and icy blue eyes. He looked like a king.

Bilbo spoke up, "Mark? There's no mark on that door, it was painted a week ago!"

Gandalf admitted to Bilbo, "There is a mark, I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield."

"So this is the hobbit," Thorin inquired with cuirousity before meeting your gaze. "And who is that one?" 

Before anyone could answer for you, you spoke up, "I am his neighbor, and his friend, I was just visiting when the first of you showed up."

Thorin looked you up and down, all the others humming in delight, save Kili, Bilbo, and Ori (Who didn't quite get what was going on). The king returned his attention to Bilbo. "Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?"

There it was, Bilbo was shell shocked again. "P-Pardon me?"

Thorin continued firing questions as he circled around him, "Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?"

Bilbo tried to look smug as he answered, "Well, I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant."

"Thought as much," Thorin stated and looked back to the company and me, "he looks more like a grocer then a burglar." The dwarves all chuckled, and they headed back into the dining room. You pushed forward to Bilbo and Gandalf, Bilbo was confused. Taking a hold of his hand, you led him into the dining room.

As Thorin ate, the company began asking questions. Balin goes first, "What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?"

"Aye," Thorin responded, "Envoys from all seven kingdoms."

Dwalin went next, "What do the dwarves of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?"

Thorin paused, "They will not come." The crowd murmured in disappointment. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone."

Amongst the disappointed noises from the dwarves, Bilbo asked, "Your going on a quest?"

As usual, the dwarves ignored Bilbo as a map was laid out on the table. Gandalf waved him, "Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." You handed Bilbo the candle you were holding, who held it over the map. Gandalf explained the map to those who couldn't see, "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lays a solitary peak."

You and Bilbo leaned over the map, from which he read, "The lonely mountain."

"Aye," Gloin said, "Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it's time."

Oin confirmed it by saying, "Ravens have been returning to the mountains, as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end."

Upon hearing the term 'beast', you fidgeted and Bilbo asked concerned, "Uh, what beast?"

Bofur answered, "Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals-"

Bilbo waved him off, "Yes I know what a dragon is."

Ori stood up, trying to be brave and keep spirits up. "I'm not afraid! I'm up for it! I'll give him a taste of dwarvish iron right up his jacksie!-"

Several dwarves began to shout, you and Bilbo look at each other. Dori calls out, "Sit down!"

The racket calmed down and Balin spoke, "The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen, and not thirteen of the best, nor brightest."

Every dwarve, save Thorin, began objecting. Oin was loudest, yelling "What did he say?!"

Fili stood up and yelled, attracting everyone's attention, "We may be few in number, but we are fighters! All of us! To the last dwarf!"

Kili stood up to join Fili. "And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time."

Everyone turned to Gandalf, who looked amongst the anxious dwarves. "Oh, well, now, I-I-I wouldn't say that. I-"

Dori interupted, "How many then?"

You wanted to blurt out that the dwarves were ignorant and he hadn't killed a single one. Gandalf was taken by surprise, "Uh, what?"

Dori continued, "How many dragons have you killed? Go on, give us a number!"

"Hm," Gandalf began to cough embarrassedly coughing on his pipe smoke. All the dwarves broke out into yelling and arguing over how many dragons Gandalf has slain.

Thorin jumped up in anger and bellowed, "Sharza!!!!!!" A silence fell over the dwarves in a heartbeat, making you assume the word had meant 'Silence'. Everyone sheepishly sat down as he spoke, "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for over 60 years. Eyes look East to the mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours. Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor!"

All the dwarves began to cheer, and once they had calmed down Balin spoke, "You forget: the front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain."

Gandalf spoke next, "That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Twiddling his fingers, he produced a large key.

Thorin gazed at it in wonder. "How came you by this?"

Gandalf answered, "It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It's yours now."

Bilbo's hand found its way into yours and squeezed it. You looked over at him, and you could see just how overwhelmed he was. Everyone else looked on in wonder as Gandalf handed the key to Thorin. Fili noted, "If there is a key, there must be a door."

After nodding, Gandalf pointed to some runes on the map. "These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls."

"There's another way in!" Kili chimed happily. 

"Well," Gandalf input, "if we can find it. But dwarf doors are invisible when closed. The answer lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-Earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and clever, I believe that it can be done."

Ori noted aloud, "That's why we need a burglar!"

A sense of dread washed over you, wasn't that was Thorin was calling Bilbo? Bilbo, however, just fiddled with his suspenders, completely oblivious. "Hm, and a good one too. An expert, I'd imagine."

Gloin inquired, "And are you?"

Bilbo looked up, "Am I what?"

Oin clapped once. "He says he is an expert. Hey hey!" Several of the dwarves began laughing.

Finally catching on, Bilbo began panicking, "M--Me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar; I've never stolen a thing in my life."

Balin chimed in sadly, "I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He is hardly burglar material."

Bilbo and you nod your heads in agreement. Dwalin shook his head. "Aye, the wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves."

Bilbo and you nod again, and the dwarves once again begin to argue. Gandalf, growing angry, stands up and casts a darkness over the group. Everyone looked up at Gandalf in awe. Then in a powerful voice he commanded, "Enough! If I say Bibo Baggins is a burglar, then a burglar he is." After his fit, he returns to his normal self and sat down. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet!" You looked up to meet his gaze, looking at you. "In fact, they can pass unseen by MOST, if they choose." He looked from you to the other dwarves, who were also looking at you at the time. 

Gandalf continued, "And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of a hobbit is all but unknown to him. Which gives us a distinct advantage." Gandalf looks at Thorin, who returns an untrusty gaze, "You have asked me to find the fourteenth member of our company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins. There's a lot more to him than appearances suggest, and he's got a great deal to offer than any of you know, including himself. " He looked over at Bilbo, who swallowed nervously. "You must trust me on this."

Thorin looked over at the two of you, then down at the table. "Very well, we will do it your way."

You froze and Bilbo shook his head, "No no no-"

Thorin jerked his head in yours and Bilbo's direction. "Give him the contract."

Bilbo nodded, "Please."

Bofur exclaimed, "Alright! We're off!"

Balin stood to hand Bilbo a long contract, Bilbo began to read aloud, but to himself. Balin explained, "It's just the usual summary-out-of-pocket expenses, time required, remuneration, funeral arrangements, so forth."

You bit your lip, the last time Bilbo heard that he passed out shortly after. "F-Funeral arrangements?" He repeated.

While Bilbo began to read the contract to himself, you saw Thorin and Gandalf muttering about something. All you heard was Gandalf say, "Agreed." Before they backed away, Gandalf looking back at you. You averted your eyes quickly to Bilbo.

Bilbo continued to read aloud, "Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fouteenth of total profit. Seems fair. Eh, present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence thereof including but not limited to: lacerations, evisceration," Bilbo looked back at the company, "incineration?"

Bofur nodded as if it was expected. "Oh, aye. He'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye."

Bilbo became a little breathless. Oh boy, now you knew he was going to pass out. "Huh." Was all Bilbo could get out.

Balin looked over to him. "You alright Laddie?"

Bilbo bends over, no doubt nauseous and pained. "Uh, yeah," he says unreasuringly, "just feeling a bit faint."

Bofur tried to make things better. "Think furnace, with wings." 

You hit your forehead with your palm. Bilbo stood up looking around, quivering. "Air. I--I--I need air."

Panicking, Bofur continued, "Flash of light, searing pain, then poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash!"

Bilbo breathed heavily, trying to compose himself as everybody stared at him. He stood up straight for one moment before saying, "Hmmm, nope," and falling to the ground in a faint. 

You dashed to his side as Gandalf said, "Ah. Very helpful Bofur."

Fili and Kili moved to either side of you and knelt down. "He'll be fine," Kili assured and placed a hand on your shoulder. "Fili give me a hand." Kili walked to Bilbo's head and hooked his arms around his chest from behind.

"You got it," Fili took a hold of Bilbo's ankles and stood up. They looked at each other in surprise, and the Fili asked you, "Mahal, are all you hobbits this light?"

You looked down at yourself confused. "I think so?" The two dwarves laughed amongst themselves, Fili shook his head as he carried Bilbo over his shoulder out of the room. You watched Fili disappear before asking, "You two are good friends?"

Kili chuckled, "Well we aren't lovers if that's what you mean." 

Fili returned and joined in, "Far from it. Kili is my younger brother."

Kili responded coolly and cynically, "Yes, and my wits are far sharper than my oaf of a brother."

"That so?" Fili lunged at Kili, knocking him to the ground. They engaged in a wrestling match, and you decided it was best to back off as they rolled around.

You back up into Bofur, startled, you turn around to apologize, but he hadn't seemed to notice. He shook his head, "Oh, I remember a time where if a pretty lass was put in front of me, I would wrestle all my brothers for her attention."

"Pretty? I'm not-" You looked down at yourself. You had never considered yourself to be beautiful after seeing paintings of elves. Now those were truly beautiful. You looked up to see every dwarf silenced and staring at you. "What?" You asked, most dwarves just returned to their original conversations.

"Let's just say. Lassie," Gloin said quietly, "it is very hard for us to find a woman we are attracted to." You looked at him confused and he continued, "Dwarf women, eh, how shall I put this? They can often be mistaken for Dwarf men."

"Oh!" You said, geting his point. "But what about elves?"

The dwarves all shuddered in disgust. Fili stood up and helped his brother. "You really don't know anything about dwarves, do you?" He asked.

"Not really, " you say innocently, "could you teach me?"

A smirk passed Fili's face as he began to approach you, "Oh I could show you a thing or two."

Kili shoved his brother. "Stop it Fi, you'll frighten her,"

Fili's hungry gaze raked over you, making a feeling you had never faced before creep over you. "What's the matter? A little hospitality wouldn't kill anyone."

Your eyes flicked around, but no one except Kili seemed to notice. Gandalf was gone from sight. You rushed around the the dwarves and out of the home. Air was what you needed, even though the night was cold. You tried to shake the uneasy feeling you had, you couldn't place what it was. You knew Fili was just drunk and joking, but you had never had men joke about you that way.

"I'm sorry, you've got the wrong hobbit," you heard behind you and the door opening. "(Y/n) What are you doing out here?" You turned around and threw your arms around Bilbo's neck, hugging him, you were so happy to see him again. He was startled, but was quick to hug you back. "What happened?"

You pulled back smiling, "It doesn't matter,"

Although he didn't believe you, he let it be. "I don't know what to do about this whole 'burglar' thing," he admitted.

You gave him the best advice you had, "Well if there is something I know it's this: you may not want something at the time, but eventually time will take that thing away. And you never know you want something until it's gone, and when it's gone, you realize that you want it more than anything else in this world."

He looked at you for a moment before nodding quickly. "Right, I'm going to go back inside now, do you want to come with?"

You smiled softly and shook your head. "I am going to stay out here for a while. If you don't mind."

"Oh, um, yes of course. Feel free to stay over, if you like." He turned to go back inside.

"You mean 'if I can find room'." You responded and he looked back at you sympathetically.

After Bilbo went back inside you waited a couple moments as you heard heavy footsteps. Soon after you heard Balin talking to someone, "It appears we have lost our burglar. Probably for the best." You couldn't quite hear from where you were standint by the door. So you stalked quietly until you were beneath the window. "After all what are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toy-makers; hardly the stuff of legend."

It was Thorin's deep voice you heard rumbling in reply, "There are a few warriors amongst us."

Balin scoffed lightly, "Old warriors."

Thorin continued, "I will take each and every one of these dwarves over an army from the Iron Hills. For when I called upon them, they came. Loyalty. Honor. A willing heart. I can ask no more than that."

You took the chance to peek up through the window. Thorin and Balin were face to face in the hallway, you were going to be spotted if either of them looked to the side. Balin tried to reason with Thorin, "You don't have to do this. You have a choice. You have done honorably by our people. You have built a new life for us in the Blue Mountains, a life of peace and plenty. A life that is worth more than all the gold in Erebor."

From his pocket, Thorin produced the key that was given to him and held it up. "From my grandfather to my father, this has come to me. They dreamt of the day when dwarves of Erebor would reclaim their homeland. There is no choice, Balin. Not for me."

Balin put a hand on Thorin's shoulder, "Then we are with you Laddie. We will see it done." You shifted and a twig snapped, making the dwarves head whip to the window. You ducked down, but you needed to move before they found you. But there was no where to hide! The brush had been uprooted recently, and there weren't any trees. You wouldn't make anywhere far before they saw you. As footsteps took quick steps in your direction, you looked around hastily for somewhere to hide.

A hand covered your mouth and you yelped into it, the same person dragged you away quickly. Struggling to free yourself, you kicked as the person picked you up off the ground with his arm wrapped around your middle, the other over your mouth. Now was really not the best time to be kidnapped, even if you were saved you would be in trouble. The person who was carrying you brought you both under the porch. Now you were really terrified, this was exactly how your mother died.

You watched as Thorin poked his head out of the window, the hand on your mouth and around your middle not budging an inch. Your breathing was ragged through your nose from concern as Thorin looked around uneasily. Listening, you could hear Balin say, "Come on Thorin, it was probably a rabbit."

Thorin's gaze glazed across the yard untrusting. "It was no rabbit." 

Someone called Thorin's name from afar, and he flicked his eyes across the landscape once more before disappearing. The hands from your kidnapper held on for a few more moments then you thought was needed and you squirmed away. You were still crouched but managed to turn around. Your eyes met with chocolate mischevious ones. "Kili?!" You whispered, both in relief and annoyance. "You scared me." He smiled and began to laugh, he had a quick and genuine laugh. "What is so funny?!" 

He quit laughing, but the crinkles by his eyes were evident he was amused. "Thing was, I was coming out to apologize for Fi scaring you."

You tried to force the bubble of laughter back down your throat, but you couldn't. Soon both of you were in a giggling fit, and all your anger towards him subsided. "Thank you, I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't kidnapped me."

He mocked offended, "Kidnapped?! Sorry I swooped in to save you at the opportune moment."

"You mean at the last moment?" You raised an eyebrow.

He gave a warning laugh. "You better be careful, my lady, I won't always be around to save you from my uncle."


	3. Going on an Adventure!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo is going on an adventure, who are you to let him do it alone? And what will Thorin have to say??? ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get it im a terrible person, sorry for this being so slow I just wanna write a really lomg fic, so if you are not into that then this isnt for you

"Uncle?" You all but stammer.

He looked unphased at you, "Well yeah, why?"

You snapped out of your trance by shaking your head. "I didn't take you for the prince type," you admitted.

He smirked and was about to respond when a voice from outside the porch spoke, "And just what do you think a dwarven prince should act like?"

You turned your heads to see Fili crouched outside of the porch, looking at you two. If Kili was a prince, that made Fili a prince too. If Fili was a prince, that meant he could do whatever he wanted to you. Scrambling away from Kili, you bolted from under the porch, only to have Fili catch your elbow. "Listen," Fili said almost sheepishly, "I came to apologize for my behavior earlier. It was an offensive and inconsiderate joke."

You looked into his blue eyes surprised. "I-I, um," you scrambled for words.

Kili pulled himself from under the deck. "How did you find us, Fi?"

Fili shrugged and let go of your elbow. "You weren't exactly being quiet under there." You nearly blushed as you looked down, fiddling with your dress. Fili grabbed your attention by saying, "I can not help but notice the young lady has failed to grace us with a name."

You looked between the equally curious princes before responding, "Call me (y/n), your majesties." You curtsied after introducing yourself. 

Both of the dwarves paused for a second, before hidden smiles emerged. Kili couldn't contain his laughter and bent over, crossing his hands over his stomach and trying not to fall. Fili held in and made a couple noises before being able to control himself. You widened your eyes in confusion, did you do something wrong? Kili put a hand on his brothers shoulder to steady himself. Coming down from his high of laughter he asked, "Could you do that again?"

You cocked your head slightly. "Do what again?"

Kili continued, "Introduce yourself! It was hilarious."

A bright red rose to your cheeks and you bounded off around the house to the back, tears brimming your eyes. With a hand you wiped them off as you ran, the two calling after you. Thankfully you were fast, you dove into the bushes just as they arrived in the backyard. Curling your knees to your chest, you waited and watched.

Kili looked around. "Oh this is bad, very very bad."

Fili looked around. "This is your fault, you know?"

"My what?" Kili asked surprised.

"If you hadn't acted so rude she wouldn't have run off." Fili retorted while checking the bushes near you.

Kili rolled his eyes and checked the bush on your other side. "Well if you hadn't acted so creepy she wouldn't have come outside."

Fili stopped and turned to Kili. "Well asking her to reintroduce herself because it was funny was-"

"A mistake," Kili stopped and turned to Fili, "I know. But when is the last time we have been called 'majesty', brother? Let alone be bowed to!"

"That would be called a curtsy," Fili responded.

"Beside the point." Kili looked around, almost disappointed. "I just wish I had gotten the chance to apologize and do it over."

Fili crossed his arms. "Oh? And what would you have done differently?"

Kili looked to the ground, a small smile playing across his face as if he was thinking of a fond memory. "I would have told her she had a beautiful name."

Dwalin's voice echoed from the front door, "Come on, Lads! Get back in here!"

The two looked at each other, and started back. Fili shook his hood and said, "You never take interest in girls, Ki, I don't get you."

Kili didn't respond, just looked back once more, as if you would show your face. It had crossed your mind, but you couldn't, not after that embarrassment. It wasn't long until you heard someone uncover your bush. You looked up to meet a grey beard, grey hair, and grey robes. He spoke before you could, "I feel it is safe to assume you are upset."

You watched as the two dwarves rounded the corner before getting out of the bushes. "Fine. Thank you."

He glanced in the direction of where the two dwarves left. "Fools. You will have to forgive them, dwarves have never been the brightest of species."

After smoothing out your dress, you looked to Gandalf. "I think it's about time I went home don't you?"

Gandalf nodded and began to walk back to the house as he said, "If you so choose to, but you are about to miss out."

You called out confused, "What, exactly, would I be missing out on?" But the wizard didn't respond, just strolled back around and into the house. 

After groaning in annoyance you started back across the lawn, the others will have told Bilbo you left. However, you stopped walking as you hear noise coming from inside. It was harmonious, almost entrancing humming. Maybe you could stay just a little bit longer for the song. You leaned your elbows against the railing on the front porch. It was definitely getting dark, but you hardly noticed. The chill of the air bit at you, and that you did notice. Inside, a deep but smooth voice began to sing, eventually joined by the other dwarves.

Far over the misty mountains cold,  
Through dungeons deep, and caverns old,  
We must away, ere break of day,  
To find our long forgotten gold,  
The pines were roaring on the height,  
The winds were moaning in the night,  
The fire was red,  
It flaming spread,  
The trees like torches blazed with light.

Though no more words were spoken, most of the dwarves continued to hum. You closed your eyes and smiled while listening. For their quirkiness, they had lovely deep voices. You snapped out of your trance as you heard a voice stating, "Thought you were gone." No doubting that voice was Kili's. He joined you at your side, but you didn't acknowledge his presence. "May I speak to you?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, you nodded and he continued, "The reason I laughed at your introduction was because, I have never been addressed so formally. Even though Thorin is king, or heir to the throne, we are not royalty until we reclaim Erebor. Or unless we take over someone else's kingdom, but that seems unlikely with thirteen dwarves. Well I guess it could-"

You silenced him by placing your fingers on his lips, your head now turned to look at him. "There is no need to keep talking, I forgave you before this conversation took place."

He smiled gently under your hand and you quickly moved your hand away from his face, turning back to the railing. "Come inside, your hands are ice."

"I need to get home, there's no room for me to sleep in there." You explained.

He cast his eyes downwards. "You could sleep with Bilbo."

Your lips tugged into a smile and you began laughing. "Oh death take me before I lay myself with Bilbo Baggins." 

"So you're not in love with him?" He asked.

"Not at all." You say, almost too quickly.

"But, I recall him asking you to spend the night." 

You looked over suspiciously. "We were alone. "

A smirk appeared on his face, "You are not the only one capable of eavesdropping."

Scoffing, you turned and leaned your back on the railing. "You should probably leave the sneaking around to your burglar."

"Well, if you hadn't took notice, I could make a wonderful burglar. Seeing as I was able to steal you."

You looked over at him, musing, "You caught me offguard, nothing special."

A hint of mischief played into his statement, "That sounds like a challenge."

"Please," you squinted your eyes at him, "I am a challenge." 

A single one of his eyebrows arched ever so slightly. His voice dropped lower and more hushed for effect as he leaned closer, "I like challenges."

You swallowed nervously and a throat cleared from the door. Jumping, Kili backed off to look at the door. "Thorin, I was just-" 

"I would like a word with the girl, Kili," His deep voice rumbling in an orderly tone. 

Kili looked back to meet your eyes for a second, his voice changing from sultry to panicked, "Y Yeah, o-of course!" He ducked around his uncle and back into Bilbo's house.

Thorin raised his eyebrow as he watched his nephew leave before turning his icy gaze on you. You took in short breaths, nearly holding them as he approached you. He was so intimidating, you could feel your knees wobbling. Focusing your gaze on the rest of Hobbiton, you feel his presence at your side. He spoke after a few moments, "I know not your relationship to master baggins, but it is best that you use that to our advantage."

"O Our advantage?" You all but stammered out. 

"Bilbo does not belong with us," he turned towards me, making me look his direction, "I need you to convince him not to come."

With a sharp exhale through your nose, you start back to the house, pausing before the door. "You don't give Bilbo the credit he deserves," you stood up for Bilbo.

Almost immediately afterwards you were spun and your back hit the wall. You gasp as a harsh grip bruised your arms, pressing them into the wall. Thorin's body pressed flush against yours, his dagger hilt pressing into your abdomen painfully. You struggled uselessly as your breathing came rapid, and you could feel his even breath hot on your face. "Tell me, miss (y/n)," Giving up, you looked straight into those icy pools that were his eyes, "what do you know of pain?" He pressed his hips into your stomach harder, the hilt making you whimper. "Could you imagine this dagger sheathed right here in your body, ripping upwards, and spilling your innards to the ground?"

He pulled away and dragged you by an arm to the railing, bending your back over the railing. One of his arms held you from falling over, while the other reached forward and harshly grabbed your jaw so you would look at him. "Or falling hundreds of feet onto sharp rocks, listening to each one of your bones crack and turn to dust?" The hand around your jaw slide to the back of your neck and yanked you upward, the arm holding you in place lifted the rest of you with ease until you were sitting on the railing. His hand on the back of your neck fisted into your hair. Leaning in, he hissed, "Tell me, is that what you wish for your precious Bilbo?"

Your heart pounded so loudly that you were nearly positive he could hear it. Thorin let you go and turned away from you, striding back to the house. Stopping midway, he turned his head to the side. "Try to appease to master Baggins. I do not want to be responsible if he shall perish. And if he is to come with us, he will." Finally, he opened the home of Bag End, and closed it behind him as he walked inside. 

The feeling inside of you was indescribable, you were getting a second hand anxiety that Bilbo is probably feeling. You heaved heavy breaths to calm yourself down, you had never been so terrified, why couldn't you have spoken nicer to him? You waited several minutes sitting on that railing before the door opened again. You jumped and looked up at the door, Bilbo raised his eyebrows at the sight of you. "I thought you had gone."

Swallowing down your emotions from your previous visit from Thorin, you smiled. "Thought you could get rid of me so easily?" He blinked and gave that relaxed pleased smile he was blessed with.

"Bother me, you're the only one I don't want to leave," he breathed and walked towards you slowly. It was moments before he was playing with his suspenders looking out over Hobbiton. 

You looked down, trying not to sound suspicious as you asked, "What are you going to do, about the contract I mean?"

A sigh was audible from him, but there wasn't an answer, meaning that he didn't have one. 

Thorin's words echoed in your mind, and you shook my head to rid yourself of them. You were not going to let him get inside your head. After a couple of moments he finally responded, "I, I just don't think I am up to the task (y/n). I am a Baggins of Bag End, not some burgalor. I'm not what they need, or even what they want."

You blinked a couple of times, finally ridding yourself of your uneasyness, he was having a much harder time than you were. After all, this decision rode on him alone, and it would change him no matter what he picked. Your eyes grew heavy, you knew it was late as the night air chilled you to the bone. "Is your bedroom floor free tonight?" You mused.

He didn't look at you, deep in thought, but he did answer, "Please take my bed instead. I do not believe I will be getting any sleep tonight."

Grateful, you nodded gently before sliding off the railing. You gently laid your hand on Bilbo's arm, making him look to you. "By the way," you concluded, "you may not think you are what they want. But you are more than they deserve." You leaned in and pecked his cheek before heading inside, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Upon entering the house, a chill shot down your spine from the difference in temperature. It was so warm from the roaring fire, you had almost forgotten how cold it was outside. Most of the dwarves had gone to sleep, their load obnoxious snoring filling the house. You looked among them nonchalantly before a voice behind you made you jump, "Have you spoken with him?" 

You turned around to see Thorin, and your eyes immediately cast downwards. "I have done all I can. The decision is now his," You fight the urge to curtsy.

He grunted displeased, but turned and walked back towards the study. Watching him go, you swallowed uncomfortably before looking among the dwarves again. This time, you found one staring back at you from the couch. Kili watched you like he would look at a painting, soaking up every detail that he could while his eyes searched. A faint heat rose to you cheeks and you smiled and folded your hands behind your back. "You should be sleeping," you lightly stated.

"Mm," he hummed as his gaze returned to your eyes, "I would much rather force my eyes open, so long as you are in my field of vision." Oh you were definitely blushing now. A small part of you wanted to stay up for a while, seeing as you would probably never see him again. After a moment he muttered, "I wish you would come with us."

You were taken aback by his statement, "Go, with, you?" It sounded a lot ruder than you wanted, but it was too late to change it. Kili exhaled, as if he was disappointed.

"We did pack for a much larger group, in hopes that some of out kin would meet us at Erebor's gates," he murmured, already beginning to fall into a slumber again. "But maybe you're right, out there is no place for a girl. It would ruin that gorgeous shine your curls possess, tarnish your sun kissed skin, and smudge the stars from your eyes." You shuddered as you listened to him. He glanced up to see you uncomfortable with what he was saying. "Forgive me," he forced his eyes open once more.

"Rest," you commanded softly. Turning, you put your foot on the first step and glanced once more at the Dwarf. But he was sound asleep, peaceful just like the rest of them. Smiling sadly, you ascended up the stairs and into Bilbo's room, falling asleep as soon as your head touched the pillow.

\-----------------------------------------------The Next Morning-----------------------------------------------

Your eyes awaken as the first light rises into the window. Blinking away sleep, you sit up and stretch for a few seconds. You bloomed down to see the blue dress still on you, you had forgotten to change into a nightgown last night. But that hardly mattered to you now. You glanced over to see Bilbo had decided to sleep after all, and had crawled into bed next to you. Slipping on the last clean outfit you had at your friend's, which was a white and pink dress with a brown corset on the outside, you left the room. You took small steps, in hopes of not waking any of the dwarves, and were surprised to see that they had already gone.

"Curious," you murmured to yourself. They did not seem to be the type to wake up before the sun rose. A feeling of both relief at the empty space, and the disappointment that there were not Dwarves to fill it swirled around your chest. You had at least wished to say goodbye to them. All around the house you searched, but there were no signs that the Dwarves had even been here. Your feet took past the study and through there dining room, but something out of the corner of your eye made you stop in the next room. On the table, Bilbo's contract was left, unsigned by him. 

You stared at the contract, reading it as you heard light footsteps traveling all around the house as you had. A meek and stuttered, "H-Hello?," made you quickly step out of sight to the side of the doorway. Listening, you watched Bilbo enter the doorway to your left. He was waving his arms, as someone who was anxious would do. He sighed in relief for a moment, then his expression dropped. You noted his posture and facial expression was that of which you were afraid: he looked lonesome.

Swallowing back the bit of sadness you got, you watched his glance down at the contract. Coming out of your hiding place, you almost made him flinch when he saw you. He just smiled as he normally did and waved his arm for you to approach him. Standing next to him, you both looked down at the contract again. Fiddling with the skirt of your dress you said the unthinkable, "Go." He looked up back at you, almost as shocked as you were on the inside. "You really want to, I see it. Remember what I told you about regretting not doing something? You are about to, and do not ask me to just watch it happen."

Bilbo paused staring into your eyes. But instead of shooting your statement down, or making an excuse, he simply told you, "Come with me."

Shaking your head smally, a part of you broke inside. "This journey isn't for me," you blinked slowly to shift your gaze back to the paper as he did. "You want this," you stated again walking around him to the doormat, "Go on an adventure, Bilbo Baggins."

He looked up from the contract to you for a moment before dashing back through the rooms. You bit back a sad smile as You heard him scrambling to get all of his things together, in his hiking bag no doubt. Soon enough, Bilbo emerged from the pantry with his hiking pack now stocked with everything he would need. He came back through the dining hall and through the next room, signing and picking up his contract before stopping in front of you. He swallowed as if he wanted to say something, anything to change your mind, but you wouldn't let him. Throwing your arms around him in a warm embrace, you squeezed your eyes shut and drank in his scent. He pulled back on cupped your face, eyebrows raised. "If I am to come to back, I'll marry you," he smiled.

"No you won't," You laughed at his comment and pushed him away, "but you will come back." You turned to the side so the door was all that was in Bilbo's focus. He swallowed nervously, but then ran through the doors and bounded down the trail. You stepped outside after him and watched him hop over fences and pumpkins. 

His neighbors shook their heads, one of the Beiches' called out, "Hey! Mr.Bilbo! Where are you off to?

Bilbo yelled out as he continued running, his contract flying behind him, "Can't stop, I'm already late!

The neighbor asked one more question, "Late for what?"

Just as you watched Bilbo disappear you heard him yelling, "I'm going on an adventure!" Just like that, your best friend was gone. Standing outside, you folded your arms before returning inside. You took a few moments to gather all your dirty laundry in a basket and left Bag End once more. The morning sun touched your face, and the fresh morning air brushed your hair behind your shoulders. With a newfound emptiness, you returned to your home and began to wash the clothes. With each stroke of rubbing the cloth down into the soap suds, the longing to run after Bilbo and the company grew. Thorin's dark and eye opening threats kept you to your task, but it was the little things. Little things like Kili wanting you to come with them before he fell asleep, or Bilbo asking you to go, it was as if there were all these little opportunities that you were saying no to.

You laughed slightly to yourself before pushing the clothes back down the washboard on more time. Rinsing them free of soap suds, you took them outside to hang them up. Whilst hanging the dresses and skirts, you let your mind wander again. Your mind recounted the eventful day; you had met a wizard who did not turn you into a frog for eavesdropping, went for a relaxing walk with Bilbo... Maybe the last walk you two would take together. No. You had to stop thinking about that. Continuing on with hanging and recounting, you sighed. You had almost had dinner when twelve dwarves decided to show up and destroy the place. They partied and Bilbo almost had a heart attack, but you and Gandalf managed to calm him down. After that you met some of them individually, the ones sticking out the most were the ones of royalty. Fili with his drunken approaches, Thorin with his brooding and mysterious air, not to mention hostile; and Kili, the miscievious but sweet Dwarven prince that had really caught your eye.

Finishing the clothes, you walked back inside and began sweeping. After all of that anxiety, they just up and left without a word. Thorin reentered your mind again, a ghostly air that was the memory of his hilt jabbing into your belly. "Could you imagine this dagger sheathed right here in your body, ripping upwards, and spilling your innards to the ground?" You continued to sweep as the memory took your mind over to Bilbo's railing and bent it over backwards."Or falling hundreds of feet onto sharp rocks, listening to each one of your bones crack and turn to dust? Tell me, is that what you wish for your precious Bilbo?" Your broom stilled and you stared at the wall, deep in thought. No, it wasn't what you wanted at all. You didn't want Bilbo to die, not alone.

The broom hit the ground as you stumbled around your own home, packing whatever you could carry. Excitement, adrenaline, dread, and hope all bounced around your body as you packed swiftly. Finishing your traveling pack off with some handkerchiefs, you turn to your own door smiling. Biting your lip, you swung them outward and open. Just like that, you were running in the direction Bilbo had gone. Hopping over carts and crops, you dashed past the same neighbor that yelled at Bilbo. "And where are YOU going?" He called out.

You turned back to him while running. "Well I can't just leave Bilbo to have all the fun, can I?" You didn't wait to see him shake his head, you turned and sprinted after your best friend. Oh boy, what were you thinking?


	4. Orc Cries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your quest to catch up with the dwarves goes awry when someone from the company keeps you from them. Will you be able to catch up with them before night falls and the Orcs come to play?

 

 

You jogged for long aggravating minutes before you were positive you were lost, so lost you couldn't even find your way home if you tried. With your chest heaving, you fell on your bottom harshly, the traveling pack acting as a back rest. You caught your breath and then began to fight back the pain in your chest, the pain of regret. Why didn't you follow your own advice? Why didn't you say yes to coming with them? Why couldn't you find them? What if Bilbo hadn't found them either? You could not fathom the thought of Bilbo unable to find his way home. Your eyes began to water slightly at the vision. However, sounds of horse hooves clopping in your direction made you dash to a nearby tree and climb it.

You twitched in contempt as branches scratched your bare skin, but you didn't know what kinds of enemies could be lurking in the woods. Only in stories had you heard about the vile creatures that come out when no one is watching. As a child you didn't believe them to be real, which gave you a fearless quality; one that troubled your parents when you wouldn't  listen about where not to go and who not to talk to. A flash, of your mother being dragged under that porch by pale hands, made you shut your eyes. Not now, you had to focus on keeping every inch of your body still as the footsteps grew closer.

Opening an eye to peek out in the direction of the footsteps, you couldn't see anything. But soon you could make out voices, especially groans and laughter. Chatter  and tossing something amongst them made you wary, but the one voice you could actually make conversation from made you relax. Bilbo's voice asked someone confused, "What's that about?"

Gandalf's low and wise voice answered, "Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you'd turn up. Most of them bet you wouldn't." Rolling your eyes, you continued to listen to the conversation.

Bilbo seemed hopeful as he asked, "What did you think?" Peeking out, You could just see them approaching your tree.

Gandalf hummed almost sheepishly, "Hmmm." Moments later a small brown pouch flew at Gandalf and he caught it with ease, stuffing it into a brown leather bag at his side. "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second." He chuckled at himself for a moment before he looked up in your direction. Your eyes widened and you thought he would say something, but instead he nodded nonchalantly at you as Bilbo began to sneeze. A tingling sensation brushed over your body for a moment, but disappeared. That's when you noticed, Bilbo was  _on_ a pony.

"Ohh, all this horse hair," Bilbo gave Gandalf a look, "I'm having a reaction." He felt around, patting and checking his pockets for something. His handkerchief! You knew he would forget something, he always does. "No no, wait, stop, stop!!!" He called out, the ponies were right under your tree. You smirked, plotting out how you should reveal yourself to the company. But that moment was soon, you can feel it. "We have to turn around." The entire company comes to a halt and Dwarves began objecting. 

After a moment Gandalf asked Bilbo, "What on Earth is the matter?" 

Bilbo answered promptly as he continued to search, "I forgot my handkerchief."

You smiled and went to hop down, but you couldn't move. Furrowing your eyebrows, you looked down at your hands and feet. Nothing seemed to be the matter with them, but they stayed firmly like concrete, as if you were a statue. Turning your head down to look at the others, you watched the dwarf with a big hat, Bofur, tear a piece of cloth from his garments. "Here! Use this." Bofur tossed it to Bilbo, who caught it and looked at it in disgust.

You open your mouth to say something clever, but nothing came out. Your mouth could move, and you could feel the breath escaping your lips, but not even a whisper sounded. Instead, you tried to say Bilbo's name, in hopes of drawing attention to yourself. Nothing. The dwarves had laughed, and you could hear Thorin call out, "Move on." Immediately, everyone beginning to continue onwards. Panicking, you started screaming, but once again no sound came from you. You struggled to move, but trying to move your arm was like trying to move a stone without touching it. Giving up, you panted and looked down after them, all of them.

Gandalf turned to Bilbo, speaking to him, "You'll have to manage without pocket-handkerchiefs and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end." The wizard looked upwards and made eye contact with you as he continued, "You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. But home is now behind you, the world, is ahead." Afterwards, he simply looked back at where they were heading. That wizard! He had surely vexed you again, and who knows how long that will last? Painfully, you watched as the company shrunk to tiny figures in the distance. They were heading for rolling plains and small patches of trees.

For a long time you didn't move; for you were afraid that if your attention went elsewhere, you wouldn't be able to spot the little ant sized people far off from you. After hours of watching them, they had finally disappeared from sight. Your legs ached from being crouched for several hours and your heart hurt from losing them again. Why wouldn't Gandalf let you be seen? You slowly checked to see if you could move, a single finger raising from the branch. Swallowing dryly, you raised your whole hand to the front of your face. It had red marks from the bark, but you hardly cared. Cautiously, you made your way down the tree with your heavy pack. 

Finally, you let a single dainty and dirty foot touch the lush grass. Sighing, you relished in the feeling of grass under your feet again. Your head turned back to the way you came, and then turned to the direction in which Bilbo went. You could follow the company, maybe even catch up with them, but if Gandalf kept keeping you away the whole journey would be for nothing. But if you went home now, you would regret it for the rest of your life. A determined look passed over your face, and you started in the direction of the company. A surge of confidence blossomed in you, if Gandalf thought that he could keep you away from them, away from Bilbo, he's mad.

You picked up your pace through the afternoon sun, the pack bouncing on your back. Your walk had turned into a jog, and that jog had turned into a run. Pretty soon you were using every bit of stamina and strength you had to keep up your pace. At the bottom of a steep and somewhat rocky ledge, you took your first breather. You would never catch up with this amount of weight on your back! Hesitantly, you opened your bag and looked for something to toss. Settling on the heaviest thing you had, reluctantly, you tossed your wool and cotton blanket. Picking the pack back up, you slung it over yourself with ease. The weight had lessened greatly on your sore back, and you took one more deep breath. Then you were off again.

You ran for a few hours, stopping only once in a while for breathers. Although you had been quite good at running, this was definitely taking a tole on your body. It was beginning to get dark, the sun setting on the rolling hills. In the distance, you could make out a cliff, a shelf of the valley. Groaning, you were about to continue that way when something caught your eye. It was a small glow, so small it would not have been spotted by most. Squinting, you could just make out what it was: a flame! Someone had made a fire! The company! Huffing a few more breaths, your feet began to hit the ground again at a rapid pace. 

After a few minutes, you began to feel the symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration. Panting as you continued, you began to make out several figures on the cliff side. Slowing to a walk, you realized it wasn't the fire of a quick rest, it was camp. You could almost fall to your knees with happiness, in fact you had wanted to. But not just yet. You looked at all the figures and tried to put names to faces. But you weren't nearly thAt close yet. You still had another hour give or take to run the rest of the way there. One figure stood out to you, the tallest one. Gandalf sat against the cliff with his pipe in his mouth, looking out over the valley. Perhaps it was better to try and wait until nightfall to go.

Looking at all your surroundings, you see trees sparsely placed all over the place. You could bounce from tree to tree, ducking behind them and waiting, hoping the wizard doesn't see you. Swallowing down a cough, you rub your forehead, grateful that hobbits hardly sweat. You would at least wait until your lungs stopped contracting erratically. Your legs burned a kind of pain that you never wanted to be used to, but would probably have to anyways. The orange warmth of the sun began to fade, darkness would soon follow. With your short break over, you started for the nearest tree.

You had gotten about three quarters of the way to the company before darkness fell. The cover of night helped you as you bounced from tree to tree, but you couldn't hardly see where you were going. It was getting cold fast, you were thankful to have the exercise to keep your blood pumping at least. Looking around the side of the tree you were behind, you could now clearly see each person, most were asleep. Bilbo seemed to be among those who were asleep. Smiling, you darted towards the next tree, but bit back a yelp as you fell to the ground. Pins and needles shot from your ankle, which you had stepped on wrong and twisted as it was submerged in a rabbit hole.

Pulling it out quickly, you rubbed it and squeezed your eyes shut. It ached worse than the rest of your body did, but you couldn't slow down now, not when you were so close. Standing, you winced as you started in a fast walk to the back of the lasf tree. The company was now out of your sight as you were so close to the side of the cliff. In the dark, you noticed a small zig zagging trail that would lead you up to the rest of the company. You were thanking your lucky stars that you didn't have to climb with an injured ankle. Gritting your teeth, you jogged the rest of the way to the cliff and pressed your back to it, taking a final break to prepare yourself. 

There was an echoing and high pitch laugh and a scream, that sent a chill down your spine. It was shortly after that you began to hear conversation. Bilbo must have woken up because you heard him first, "What was that?"

A moment of suspense passed before you heard a solemn answer, "Orcs." That voice was Kili's, you decided after a small amount of thought.

Another scream was let loose, it seemed female too. You hoped Gandalf was tense and worried, thinking it's you screaming. Bilbo repeated as he didn't understand, "Orcs?"

Fili's tell-tale voice defined them, "Throat-cutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The lowlands are crawling with them."

Kili followed after him, "They strike in the wee small hours, when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet; no screams, just lots of blood."

You shivered at the image once again, and then continued to shiver simply from the temperature. However, your body relaxed slightly as you heard the two of them snicker and laugh. A resounding voice scolded them, "You think that's funny?" Thorin's footsteps thudded heavily. "You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"

After a moment, You heard Kili mutter timidly, "We didn't mean anything by it."

"No," the voice agreed, "you didn't." Thorin approached the cliff, "you know nothing of the world." You could see his majestic form under the stars, watching over the valley. Shivering, you slowly began creeping your way towards the path upwards. Thankfully, he couldn't hear you.

After a minute you heard another voice, the light one of Balin's commented, "Don't mind him, laddie. Thorin has more cause than most to hate Orcs." As Balin told the tale of Thorin, you continued creeping your way upwards, biting your tongue at your ankle. "After the dragon took the lonely mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient Dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of Orcs led by the most vile of their race: Azog, the Defiler. The giant Gundabad Orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began by beheading the king." 

You felt pity for Thorin, knowing that he must have seen the head of his grandfather. You stepped up to the next and last slope upwards, going in the opposite direction of the first. Balin continued the tale, "Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing, taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us." Being close enough to the others, you were afraid if you took another step one of them would see you. So you crouched behind a rock and listened to the rest of the story, occasionally looking at Thorin, who had a grim look upon his face. "That is when I saw him: a young Dwarve prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe, his armor rent... wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied and drove the Orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast, no song, that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then, there is one who I could follow." Your gaze now lied solely of the side of Thorin's head. "There is one who I could call king."

Thorin turned around, mildly surprised. You were in no doubt that all the Dwarves were awake now and staring at Thorin the exact way you were: in awe. He made his way closer to the fire, you had almost forgotten how cold you were. Bilbo, who always had questions,  asked, "But the Pale Orc, what happened to him?"

Thorin answered this time, "He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago." Your lips tugged at their corners downwards. That tone in his voice didn't seem normal.

Picking that this was the time, you spoke as you revealed yourself, "You don't seem so convinced." Every member of the company turned to you shocked, some had reached for their weapons before they recognized you.

Thorin growled with barely concealed rage, "How long have you been here and no one's seen or heard you."

Gandalf almost looked relieved, but at the same time still concerned. "I have been at the base of this cliff since sundown. Before the screams," you answer honestly. Bilbo approached you and immediately wrapped his arms around you in a greeting. Taking your traveling pack off of you, Bilbo went to put it with the other things. All of the Dwarves continued to stare at you, mostly in confusion, but some looked happy to see you. One, in particular, was not. Bilbo began to approach you again and this time you started after him. However, without watching your footing, you had walked too close to the ledge. Your twisted ankle popped as some of the rock gave away and you slipped downwards. You gritted your teeth as the pins turned into knives. Scraping your hands and face, you fell down a small ways before catching yourself. Dangling off the side of the cliff, you looked down to see the nearest place to land if you dropped. Best case scenario was that you fell ten feet and tumbled down the rest of the way. Given the state of your ankle, it wasn't going to be an easy fall.

Everyone stumbled to get up, Bilbo was frantically yelling at the others to help as he reached down for you. You listened to the rock crack once, twice, three times, and you braced yourself as you felt it crumble in your hands. But you did not fall, a large and calloused hand gripped your forearm to hold you up. You looked up to see Thorin as the one who was fast enough to catch you. Hauling you up with ease, he turned away from the ledge and set you down. "Thank you," you breathed.

He stared at you coldly. "Do not thank me, I only did it so you could still get home. How did you reach us on foot so fast?"

"Running," you answered and he raised an eyebrow. 

"Then I suppose you can 'run' home too," he muttered and walked around you back towards the fire. 

"I'm not leaving," you stated firmly, and Thorin stopped in his tracks. Other Dwarves winced and backed off from you, not willing to face Thorin's wrath.

He turned around and swiftly approached you, took your forearm, and began dragging you towards the slope downwards. "I don't have time for this, stupid girl, go back to your home. I'm not willing to take you with us."

You tried to shake your arm free of him. "You can't make me if you tried," you spat. Thorin gave you a look. _Challenge accepted._ He pushed you and you tumbled down the slope, hitting your head on the rock at the end. 

"(Y/n)," Bilbo whispered worried as he tried to get to you, but the Dwarves held him back. You were grateful, you didn't want Bilbo involved in this. This was between you and the king under the mountain.

You stood up wincing, and tried to walk normally up the slope again. But you could not hide the small limp in your step. Thorin picked up a stone as you had gotten halfway back to him. He threw the stone and it hit you square where you were hurting most. He took out your ankle and you fell forwards this time. "Why put yourself in more pain than is necessary? Go home!" He hissed as he reached for another one. 

"No," you whispered as you placed a hand on either side of the ground by your head. He paused, looking at you curiously. Grunting, you pushed yourself up and gasped as you put weight on your ankle this time. Limping, slowly, step, by painful step towards Thorin, you continued, "I will not go 'home'. I will follow you until the end of this journey."

"What if I refuse to feed you, or refuse to let you by the the fire?" Thorin growled. The entire company had fallen silent now, watching you two.

"Then I shall starve or freeze to death trying!" You respond as you take another step upwards.

"Why would you give your life so easily?" He turned to look at the company and pointed at Bilbo, "for him?!"

"No," you stated one final time before you were right in front of him, "for Thror." You exhaled after you saw his look of bewilderment as his gaze softened.

After a moment he hid that look from his face and replaced it with his usual brooding one. "Fine, prove it." Thorin turned from you and everyone watched him go to another side of the cliff. Bilbo stood dazed watching you as Kill pushed through and approached you.

"Are you alright?" He asked concerned, his eyes vacant of that michevious spark. You nod slowly, trying to bite back pain as you swayed. Gently, Kili touched your arm to steady you and his brow furrowed. "You are freezing, (y/n). Perhaps you should join us at the fire." You shake your head and turn to look out over the valley, the rest of the Dwarves uneasily made their way back into their bedrolls. "What about food, if you need to eat-" you shook your head again. "Can I at least bind your ankle for you?" He almost pleaded. You looked over into his eyes, and then nodded.

Relieved, he turned and approached Bilbo, asking him to hand over a bag that was near him. Bilbo did so, and looked at you with sympathetic eyes. You turned your gaze back to the valley, avoiding seeing that again. Soon enough you heard footsteps next to you, two hands coaxed you to sit down. You obliged, happy to take the weight off your left foot. Kili knelt in front of you, grimacing at how swollen your ankle was. He immediately began wrapping it, careful not to hurt you, but quickly all the same. He glanced up at you a few times before asking, "Would you speak to me?"

You smiled gently and looked up to meet his eyes again. "I'm fine, you needn't look upon me like I'm not."

"I know you are probably sick of hearing this, but why did you come?" He glanced down to check his progress.

After a couple of moments you responded, "Thorin tried to get me to convince Bilbo not to come. You asked me if I wanted Bilbo to die." His deep puddles of chocolate looked up at you again. "My answer is no, not alone."

His mouth twitched before stating, "You  _do_  love him." He almost sounded disappointed.

You smile, "Well, don't you love your brother? Wouldn't you do the same for him?" He looked down again, but you could see a small smile of his creep onto his face. He looked back up at you, and the smile dropped as he focused on your cheek. A single hand touched around the area, it stung, you assumed you had scraped it. He ripped off a small piece of the cloth he was binding you with and unhooked his water pouch from his belt. Protesting, you say, "You shouldn't waste any of that." 

But it didn't matter what you said because he had already dumped some onto the cloth. He dabbed the scrape on your cheek, muttering quietly, "It's not a waste." He sighs before continuing, "I told you out here would damage you." You didn't respond, just watched him as he cleaned you up. Before he put his water away he handed it to you. "Drink, you have to be thirsty," he ordered. Grateful, you bring the container to your lips and take a single gulp before handing it back. He was unsatisfied, but you didn't care.

He tied off your ankle and examined it before looking to you. "It feels much better," you admit, "thank you." 

"It was nothing," Kili gently brushed your hair from your face and looked around. "Where's your bag?" You pointed it out to him and he started off to fetch it. You looked back to see Bilbo sleeping peacefully, along with many Dwarves. Thorin had been watching you, but looked away as you glanced in his direction. You knew he wasn't finished with you, he couldn't have been, not until you proved yourself to him. By all means, you meant to. "I found your bag," Kill declared pleased as you looked up to him. Smiling, you took it and set it on the ground next to you. After shifting some of the contents around in it, you laid your head on it.

Kili started laughing at you, and you eyed him confused. "You are joking,"  he said between laughs. "Where's your bed roll? I can get it for you."

You shook your head lightly, "Not unless you wish to travel to the borders of the Shire."

His smile vaporized as if it had never been there. He set down on one knee next to your head and spoke lowly, "Please, tell me you are joking."

Swallowing, you explained, "My bag was too heavy, if I was to catch up with you before dusk, I needed to rid myself of the heaviest object in my bag. That happened to be my bedroll." You sighed softly as you folded your arms over yourself. 

The Dwarven prince shook his head vigorously. "No," he objected, "come to the fire, or allow me to bring you some blankets. I will not see you freeze to death." He began to stand up, his focus in the direction of where he would lay.

"Kili," you whisper and grab his warm hand. He stopped immediately and looked at where your hands are connected. A rush of a new feeling surged through your body, a change that you weren't accustomed to. Both you and Kili looked up at the other, you swallow and let go. Heat rushed to your cheeks once again and you were thankful it was too dark for him to see it. "I, I don't want to, and I don't want one."

"But-"

"I'll promise you something instead," you sat up once more so you were face to face. "If it comes to a matter of life and death, I'll walk to the fire and sleep." You waited for Kili to respond for a full minute, he sat staring at the fire the entire time. 

"You promise?" His head stayed in the direction of the flames, but his eyes were on the ground. You didn't answer until his head finally turned back to look at you. His eyes looked like that of a puppy's once again. Full of innocence and sincerity.

You nod gently before speaking, "Yes, no go rest, I imagine that Thorin will have us leave early." 

Your eyes strayed to the king, who was exactly where he had been before. However, your gaze snapped back as Kili picked up your hand. He brought it to his face and turned it, before pressing his lips to the inside of your hand. You gasped lightly and your lips parted, that felt a lot more intimate than you had expected. You were used to the greeting of a male kissing your knuckles, but not this gesture. Kili held your hand just in front of his mouth, he eyelids still half closed. "Goodnight, (y/n), " he whispered before letting go of your hand, standing, and strolling back to his spot by the fire.

After laying back down and staring at your hand for a few minutes, you roll to your side and tucked it under your head. The night air was only getting colder, and you wished to fall asleep before it got too cold and you couldn't. Goosebumps rose on your skin and you shuddered, the wind brushed through trees below and over rocks. The sky was clear too, which didn't make your situation any easier than it was. But determination kept you from getting up and walking to the fire, and it was exhaustion that took your consciousness.

You wake up briefly in the night, shivering. But it wasn't the cold that drove you to your brief bout of consciousness. No, it was a blanket being draped over your body. It must have been Kili, and you wanted to scold him for it. But your body fell asleep even quicker now that you felt warmth. Now, you still had a lot to prove, especially if Thorin saw Kill putting a blanket on you, knowing it wasn't your own. But at least for tonight, you could sleep peacefully.


	5. The Underdress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Hope you're in for a slightly long chapter!) You deal with the cost of trying to prove to Thorin that you aren't going anywhere. Someone standing up for you might change Thorin's mind. However, everyone knows the stubbornness of Dwarves.

 

A single rain drop urges you up in the morning, your eyes opening to see the pink rays of the sun stretching out over the horizon. Another rain drop falls on your cheek, it was going to rain. Quickly, you sat up and braided your hair to the side, tying it off with a ribbon that was always around your wrist. You looked back to see some of the Dwarves stirring, but all were still asleep. Stretching, you looked down at your lap where the wool blanket was stretched over you. However, you could barely recall the memory of Kili placing it over you.

Sighing, you packed it into your bag and looked upwards. Raindrops sprinkled steadily on your face, slow for now, but that wouldn't last long. The rain began to wake the other Dwarves, though some fought to stay asleep like the rather large one, Bifur? Bombur? Standing up and slinging your pack over your shoulder, you approached the coals of the fire. Above was a pot full of a stew, you assumed it was rabbit. However, after dipping a finger in it you shook your head. Cold. Luckily, you were skilled at starting fires from experience. The winter snow made hobbit homes much like an ice box, so fires were a must.

After the fire began crackling again, you stirred the stew around a few times to even the temperature. Hesitantly, you tasted the liquid and forced yourself not to eat any more. No food was part of the deal after all. You stirred the stew around in your mouth, soaking it up and trying to find what it was missing. Quietly opening your travel bag, you searched around for whatever that may be. Your hand picked up a small jar of minced onions and you smiled. Dumping a fair amount into the meal, you stirred it around again and tasted it once more. Perfect.

The soup was nearly warm enough to eat when the other Dwarves started to stir again, and you hastily moved away from the fire and back to your spot. You sat down to prepare for the hours of walking. The Dwarves who woke up first yawned and began waking up the rest. Bilbo stretched and looked over at you, he walked over to greet you, "Good morning.'

"Mornin'," you nodded and stretched like you just woke up, "it's going to rain today."

"I'm actually quite disappointed," Bilbo crossed his arms, "I don't see ham and eggs anywhere." He gave you a look, before both of you started laughing.

Nodding in the direction of the soup that Bofur was stirring, you raised your eyebrows. "It looks as though you will have to settle for someone else's cooking for once."

Both of you looked at the hatted Dwarf, who looked at the stew curiously after tasting it. He turned to Fili who was right next to him. "I am positive it tastes better this morning than last night, Lad, I just don't know how." 

Fili shook his head and took the ladle whilst bringing it to his lips. "You're just getting old," he commented before sampling the stew. Immediately afterwards he gave it the same look that Bofur had given it. "Maybe I'm just getting old." Soon after they passed it around to each and every Dwarf who sampled it and tried giving explanations for the flavor.

The one who has snow white hair, Balin, clicked his tongue. "Perhaps the vegetables and meat seeped overnight, so the flavor is brighter." It was the most plausible excuse that any of them came up with. Most of the Dwarves nodded and muttered to themselves, Thorin shook his head and took the ladle, sampling it himself. Even he looked pleased with it and tasted it again.

Bilbo looked down to catch you smiling like an idiot. "Looks like I'll be eating your cooking after all," he mumbled and you looked up at him bewildered. "Don't even try, there's only one person alive who's cooking makes people look like that." Rolling your eyes you looked back at the pot where all the Dwarves were getting bowls of stew. Another few rain drops painted your cheeks, and you wiped them away. "I'm going to get some, you want any?"

You shook your head though your stomach was growling, you were used to eating nearly six meals a day. But your head was too strong to give in now. "Not yet, maybe later," you coaxed his uneasy look.

"You know, Thorin didn't mean anything by it. I could see that look when you said his grandfathers name. You'll grow on him, you do that on everybody," Bilbo added as if he was remembering something bittersweet. Or rather that he didn't have the same hope for himself.

"Hey," you spoke while standing and putting a hand on his shoulder, "You'll grow on him too. Who knows, he might even be your close friend by the time this ends and we go home to Bag end." He lightened up at your optimistic viewpoint. You dropped your hand and nodded to  the Dwarves who were chowing down, "Go quickly, or there won't be any left." 

He immediately jogged over to the stew bowl, the Dwarf Gloin encouraging him, "Oh, lad, you have to eat some of this! Very good, this is." Your stomach rumbled again and you willed it to stop, focusing on the steady drizzle of rain that was beginning to pick up out in the valley. 

Your ears picked back up on the boys' conversation after a noisy wind quieted down. The half bald and sometimes rude Dwarf, Dwalin, spoke to Bilbo, "Yes the broth sat overnight, and the meat and vegetables musta cooked and made the stew even better."

"I suppose so," Bilbo said doubtful, "but I don't suppose that any of you noticed that there's a new ingrediant as well? Or that there's fresh kindling on the fire?" The rest of the Dwarves sat silenced, before all dug into their soup looking for the new ingrediant.

"The burgalor is right," Thorin muttered, "I don't recall these small chunks." When you breifly glanced he was staring at his spoon.

".. M-Maggots?" Fili said disdainfully before all the Dwarves began coughing on what they were eating. Glancing back you saw Gandalf continue to eat as if nothing was wrong, though he was eyeing the others amused.

You could feel Bilbo roll his eyes at the fit and corrected, "It's onion."

Kili spoke in between coughs, "What.. On this.. Green Earth.. Is an onion?"

"It's a vegetable, we grow them in the Shire as often as possible," Bilbo explained, the coughing came to a halt and there was a collective sigh of relief.

Thorin extrapolated, "So it was you who put this ingredient into our breakfast. I didn't realize you had such a talent for cooking," he added. You weren't sure if it was him stating a fact or being impressed.

Your breath hitched and you continued to stare out into the valley, Bilbo wouldn't take credit for something you had done. Not even if you had begged him to. "Well I'd like to think I do, but I didn't do this. I do believe your thanks is owed to (y/n)." You heard shuffling and hesitantly, you allowed yourself to look back. Every pair of eyes were on you, but all looked away right after. "Though," Bilbo said quieter, "she refuses to eat any of it herself."

"Tell me Baggins," Fili said almost timidly, but also as a joke, "is there _anything_  wrong with that woman?"

You smiled to yourself and tried to contain your laughter. You, perfect? Please. Bilbo seemed to think so too. "Oh yes, definitely. For one she is extremely stubborn as you all have seen, she also, um," he paused and you raised an eyebrow, not that he could see it though. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Stubborn like a Dwarf," Balin noted humorously. 

"I call dibs!" Fili shouted and you turned around, the almost every Dwarf was yelling at Fili. However, the blonde man could only laugh at everyone who cursed him in different languages. Thorin stood up and dismissed himself from the rest, starting to equipt his pony. Bombur no doubt had the last bowl of the stew and they packed the pot away, the rain taking care of the waining fire. Your clothes had begun to grow damp before they were fully packed and ready. You joined the side of Bilbo's pony, who was looking down on you sweetly.

"For heaven's sake get up here, your bandage will get dirty if you walk," he nearly begged. 

You looked down at the bandage around your foot. "You're right, Bilbo, my bandage will get dirty." Your eyes looked up again, Bilbo looked pleased and extended a hand down to you. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Thorin watching you. You took Bilbo's hand gently to balance yourself, bent down, untied the bandage, and took it off. 

"No (y/n) that's what I meant at all!" Bilbo scolded as you set your foot back down and put the bandage in your pack. You sharply inhaled through your nose, you hadn't noticed how much that bandage actually helped you. 

You faked surprise and beamed at your dear friend. "It's much better, it must have been a small twist," you lied. A part of you died inside, you had never truly lied to him before. Because he trusted you, Bilbo believed you and started off. Everyone got into a single file line, save you who gripped onto a strap to the saddle beside Bilbo. Gandalf lead the way, the rest shortly behind one another. So began your first day of travel with the company. 

The rain picked up at a most untasteful pace as it came pouring down on your heads. However, you had to be happy with the amount of noise it brought, because not even biting your tongue stopped the whimpers of pain that came from you. You limped as much as you could allow, enough to try and ease your pain, but not enough to be noticible. After an hour your foot was on fire, after two hours it was practically being reinjured every other step.

"Can I take your pack?" Bilbo looked down at you and you had to squint up at him. "It looks awfully heavy on you."

He was so sweet sometimes, and you loved him for it. But giving your pack up would only prove Thorin right. That you should go home. You shook your head and looked down at the forest ground instead. It was unbelievably cold outside, and of course the rain soaking the company would not help anyone. Dori called up to Gandalf, "Here, Mr. Gandalf, can't you do something about this deluge?"

Gandalf didn't appear to be shocked by the question, responding with, "It is raining, Master Dwarf, and it will continue to rain until the rain is done. If you wish to change the weather of the world, you should find yourself another wizard."

 Bilbo rapid shot a question right after his answer, "Are there any?"

Gandalf looked back at Bilbo and you, "What?"

"Other wizards," Bilbo specified.

The wizard's attention turned back in front of him. "There are five of us. The greatest wizard of our order is Saruman, the White. Then there are the two Blue wizards; you know, I have quite forgotten their names."

Bilbo asked the same question you were thinking, "And who is the fifth?"

After a miniscule pause Gandalf answered, "Well that would be Radagast, the Brown."

Bilbo cocked his head to the side and inch. "Is he a great wizard or is he... More like you?"

You hit Bilbo in the leg to remind him how offensive that may be. Gandalf looked back again, the offensive remark was brushed off shortly after. "I think he's a very great wizard, in his own way. He's a gentle soul who prefers the company of animals to others. He keeps a watchful eye over the vast forest lands to the East, and a good thing too, for always evil will look to find a foothold in this world."

* * *

The rain continued for another seven days of travel, each of which you would do your best to sustain yourself. However, not eating was beginning to take its toll on you already. You allowed yourself to drink water, but quenching your thirst hardly helped the pit in your stomach. Your foot should have begun to heal, but countless hours of walking on it never seemed to do it much good.

On the seventh night, you collapsed to your hands and knees where Thorin said you will camp, a medium sized cave. "(Y/n)," It was Kili whom you heard. He hopped down from his pony and gave the reigns to his brother before rushing to your side. Both of you had hardly spoken to each other, but each night he would rewrap your bandage. A hand was pressed on your back as you coughed and heaved.

"I'm fine," you shook your head after calming down. Other Dwarves began building a fire at the back of the cave and stripping off their clothing. "I just need to sit down for a bit." Kili stood up where he was and took his coat and shirts off like the rest of them, baring his chest. You had to look away from his _very_ masculine form so you wouldn't blush. You watched him walk to the back and begin set his clothes by the fire, his back muscles flexing in the firelight.

You averted your eyes and swallowed thickly, how could you be attracted to one of them? Sure, he was sweet, but so was Bilbo. Sure, he was good looking, but so were a lot of these Dwarves. The wind picked up and made you begin to shiver again since you were soaked. Kili looked back at you and you saw something snap in him.

He took long strides to the cave entrance where you were still on your hands and knees. You looked at the prince questioningly, he stepped to one of your sides and bent down. Rapidly, he picked you up and turned you so he was carrying you bridal-style. When you saw where he was taking you you whispered, "No." He was bringing you by the fire! "Stop," you said a little louder and weakly pushed on his bare chest. He slowed down, but refused to stop. "Stop it!" You were pushing harder now, and he was holding you away to make you stop.

"Let the girl go," Thorin commanded, he had a even more muscular chest than both his nephews. 

Kili stopped in his tracks and you rested your arms. He cradled you against his chest once again. "Do not ask me, Uncle, to watch this woman freeze to death."

"It was her own choice," Thorin pointed out coolly.

Kili shouted, clearly fuming, "Have you no sympathy!?" The company stopped what they were doing and were now watching Thorin, you, and Kili. " _Look_ at her!! If you could feel her in your arms like I do now, would you still think the way you do? She has been starved, exhausted, injured I might add, so do not ask me to watch her freeze too."

"She should have packed better then, hmm?" Thorin's face seemed like stone, but his voice was angry. He turned away and stared into the fire.

"Would you treat my mother, your _sister,_  like you treat her?" Kill had started walking slowly again. 

"SHARZA!" Thorin bellowed as he whipped around enraged.

"I just ask you to hold her for a few minutes," Kili's voice went down to a whisper. "Then you may treat her as you do."

Thorin was clearly heated, but he approached the two of you. His azure eyes looked down upon you for a second before he slid his arms next to where Kili's were. The prince passed you to him, and you shut your eyes. Thorin's skin was still slightly damp, but you were still dripping, and he was warm. There was nothing to complain about. His breathing was deep and even against your cheek, and you could feel his gaze down on you. You wished you could say the same for your breathing, which came in short near gasps. You hadn't noticed from before until now. You tried to steady your breath, but it was too late.

Opening your eyes, you watched him shift his gaze instead to your feet. But even then he could soak up your condition, seeing as one ankle was significantly larger than the other. Sighing, he slowly trailed back up to your face, asking, "Why didn't you give up?" His gaze locked onto yours, "Why didn't you go home?"

You swallowed dryly before whispering, repeating yourself, "I will follow you until the end of this journey." You paused a moment before adding, "or until death take me. And I will prove it if I have to."

Something changed in his eyes, he looked at you as if you were a new creature he didn't understand. Turning around slowly, he walked you the rest of the way to the fire. As he set you down, you shook your head, not understanding. "Just for the night," Thorin confirmed, "once every three nights." You propped yourself on your hands, nodding and he went to another side to sit down. You looked around  the fire to see everyone smiling at you, the happiest was Bilbo. 

Fili put a hand on your shoulder, his body was just as toned as his brother's, but had fairer skin. "Welcome to the company, miss (y/n)," just about everybody clapped thrilled and laughing, Thorin watched you thoughtfully. Bilbo, as one of the few people still fully clothed, came to sit by you. The only others were you and Gandalf, all the Dwarves had removed their boots and shirts. He was holding a bowl of soup that was steaming warm, your mouth watered eagerly.

"You don't have a choice now," he smirked as handed the bowl to you. Your eyes turned to see Kili, pleased and content, as if he could finally relax. Hesitantly, you brought the spoon up to your lips and drank. The liquid gold warmed your insides, and you could feel it go all the way into your stomach. You were now both warm and damp, and the dress you were wearing itched. 

You leaned into Bilbo's ear and whispered, "I need to change out of this." Leaning back, you saw Bilbo beet red staring at you wide eyed. You blinked in surprise, realizing what you had said had sounded like. "Could you possibly hold up a blanket like a curtain?"

He immediately huffed a breath in relief and nodded. You walked to your travel pack and opened it, pulling the blanket from the inside. Handing it to Bilbo, you bent down and pulled a new dress out of your bag. He turned to face the company, his arms outstreched as wide as he could muster. The top of your shoulders would show, but nothing below. You turned away from the company and started unlacing the bodice. As soon as it hit the cool rock floor the cave went silent. You could hear Bilbo clear his throat uncomfortably. "What're you doing, Master Baggins?" Fili asked curiously.

"It would appear he is being a gentleman," Thorin mused, "not that you would know what that means Fili."

You slipped the main part of your dress over your head, letting it fall to the ground. A mischevious look made it's way onto your face. After the humiliation that some off these Dwarves put you through, it was time to return the favor. 

Making sure you were just off the side of Bilbo's form, but still covered from most of your shoulders down. You took the braid you had stuck your hair in every morning out. Reaching up with your bare arms and shaking your hair free, you flipped it so it would lay nice. You slipped the under garment from your shoulders and let it pool at your feet, your body now exposed to the air.

Biting your lip, you stepped out of the puddle and kicked it backwards, it went flying. Once you heard it land, you feigned surprise and looked back to see it had landed into Kili's lap. Every Dwarf's mouth was ajar slightly, staring at the garment, they all turned their gaze back to you. Once Kili looked up at you, you changed your expression from shocked to smug. Winking sensually, you turned back around and disappeared from sight. You had bent down to pick up the dry undergarment and put it on. 

Finally, you put your outerdress on and turned around. Bilbo's hands were shaking nervously and you stifled a giggle. You took the  blanket away from the Hobbit. He half looked back at you, as if you might still be undressed. Thorin took a deep breath, "Not sure if she knows just how many of us are  _not_ gentlemen." You raised an eyebrow.

"Then you might want to consider it," you declared and kissed Bilbo on the cheek as an example.

"Oh I'll consider it the most out off all these beetles!" Ori shouted out.

"Please, laddie, you aren't even old enough to have the right parts to be a gentleman." Bofur rolled his eyes.

Fili called out, "I do believe I have called dibs, to be a gentleman to her first, of course!"

Pretty soon you were able to tell which were single and which weren't as they all started shouting out things at each other. Bilbo elbowed you and you both shared a look before laughing together and starting back to the fire. The Dwarves were still shouting at each other. The only quiet ones were Gandalf, who was laughing at the lot and giving you a look; Bilbo who was trying to act like an overprotective father and glaring at them all; Kili, who could barely take his eyes off the undergarment in his lap; and Thorin, who was simply staring amused at everyone. 

His gaze turned on you, and you bit back a smile, your face saying  _'Oh come on, having me around won't be so bad.'_

The look he returned said  _'We'll see.'_

You walked around the Dwarves to the other side of the fire once they quieted down. Kili sat, his posture tense and his gaze unchanged. He looked like a kid who had been caught doing something he shouldn't. The flush on his cheeks gave you a sense of victory, even though he hadn't really done anything to you. "I'm going to need that back," you nodded to the under slip as he looked up at you.

Nodding, he reached down and picked it up with a couple fingers, trying not to look at it as he handed it to you. Biting your lip again, you took it and went to pick up your other dress. Once both of the clothes were in hand, you set them by the fire where everyone else's clothes were. The food and warmth didn't change how exhausted you were, and most of the Dwarves could see that. Once Kili had recouped himself, he got up and gestured for you to get up as well.

Obeying, you followed him to your bag, where he picked up your bandage. "Shall we go a bit further towards the entrance?" He offered and you nodded. Dwarves hooted and hollered after you two. "Oh, shut it!" Kili yelled back at them. 

Towards the entrance of the cave, Kili turned and sat you on a rock. "Sorry about my kin, they can be a bit a, well, _I_ can be a bit mannerless."

"Would I have come if I didn't know that?" You respond, making him feel more at ease. "If anything, I owe you thanks," you added. "If it wasn't for you I would still be freezing, wet, starving, I might even be dead."

"Don't," Kili bent down in front of you and began to wrap it for the night. "Don'ttalk like that, and don't thank me, I was just giving you what you deserved. Even if it is just once every three nights."

You reaches down and put a small hand to his cheek, making his eyes look up to yours. His hands completely stopped what they were doing. "Thank you," you repeat before taking your hand away. A smile played on his lips and he looked back down, continuing his work. "Also," you shifted slightly, balancing yourself on your hands, "I have to thank you for the blanket you put over me, that first night." 

He tied your ankle off and looked back up at you. "I thought Bilbo put that over you, it's not a blanket I recognize," he admitted. He half looked down. "Though, I can't say I'm not happy you thought of me." He looked up at you through his lashes, flirting, "Do you think of me often?"

You had just started to respond when Thorin called over at you, "You fought so hard for her to find a place at the fire, Kili, i suggest you allow her to enjoy it while it lasts." He looked as if he should have expected it. Both of you found your seats at the fire, and you laid down to sleep, wondering who it was that put that blanket over you. You should have expected Bilbo, but for some reason it didn't seem like the right answer.

* * *

The following day was dry, thankfully, your feet were tired of walking through mud all day everyday. The company and you came to a stop at an old, abandoned farmhouse that was in ruins. "We will camp here for the night," Thorin delared, "Fill, Kill, look after the ponies. Make sure you stay with them." 

Gandalf looked at the ruins, "A farmer and his family used to live here."

Thorin ignored him. "Oin. Gloin."

Gloin responded, "Aye?"

He continued his orders, "Get a fire going."

"Right you are," Gloin turned to Oin and they both got started.

Gandalf spoke again to Thorin, "I think it would be wiser to move on. We could make for the Hidden Valley."

Thorin looked as if he could throw up at the thought. "I have told you already, I will not go near that place."

Gandalf didn't understand. "Why not? The Elves could help us. We could get food, rest, advice." You gasp, so Elves did really exist, a part of you really wished to meet them.

Thorin muttered bitterly, "I do not need their advice."

Still, the wizard argued, "We have a map we cannot read. Lord Elrond could help us."

Finally, Thorin had lost it, "Help? A dragon attacks Erebor, what help came from the Elves? Orcs plunder Moria, desecrate our sacred halls, the Elves looked on and did nothing. You ask me to seek out the very people who betrayed my grandfather and betrayed my father."

Gandalf was about ready to give up, but tried to make one final point, "You are neither of them. I did not give you that map and key for you to hold onto the past."

Thorin looked at him, only half musing, "I did not know they were yours to keep."

After that Gandalf was finished, stomping off angrily away from the company. Bilbo, who hadn't been paying much attention, asked, "Everything alright? Gandalf, where are you going?"

With contempt, Gandalf spoke, "To seek the company of the only one who's got any sense around here."

Still confused, Bilbo continued to ask, "Who's that?"

"Myself, Mr. Baggins!" Gandalf barked, "I've had enough Dwarves for one day."

Thorin looked after him as if he had won. "Come on Bombur, we're hungry." 

You turned to watch Bilbo, who asked Balin, "Is he coming back?"

Thorin glanced over in your direction. "I would like a word with you," he stated and started walking around the back of the farmhouse.

Uh oh, you had a bad feeling about this. He disappeared from sight and you began to follow, giving Bilbo a reassuring look. After you walked around to the very back of the house, you found him waiting for you. "A word you shall have, then," you nodded to him.

He turned to look out among the woods, trying to choose his words carefully. He started slow, then he began speaking easier once he was sure of himself. "My nephews had to beg me to take them along with me. I only did it because they would follow anyways, whether I wanted them to or not. It would appear the trait is popular among my company." He gave you an eye and you looked down sheepishly. "But that was not the only reason I let them stay. They might not be the brightest, but they both have a lot of heart, and courage twice the size of giants. I couldn't ask for more than that." You nodded as he looked at you to show him you were following. "However, I have seen the best fighters drop their swords. It all boils down to one thing: distraction." He looked at your feet. "It could be pain, an injury, weakness," he paused, his gaze fixed at your feet, "or a woman."

"A woman?" You ask cautiously.

"Yes," Thorin's gaze returned to the woods, "A woman."

"Forgive me for asking but, what does a woman have to do with it?" You were understanding his point, but you didn't get where he was going with this.

"A _woman_ always finds a way to crawl into a man's mind. A _woman_ can still a man's blade with simply a word, a _woman_  can distract a man in battle; thoughts of not going home to a _woman,_ of a  _woman_  waiting for him for when he gets home. A _woman_  can break a man's heart, and that, (y/n), is the only cure to the distraction of a _woman_. A slow cure, mind you, but a cure."

"Is that why you didn't want me to come?" You confirmed.

"No," he shakes his head to himself, "that is why I still don't want you to come." A feeling of unacceptance weighs heavily on your chest.

You also chose your words carefully, "Well, you shouldn't have to worry, I don't plan to distract any of the men in your company. Bilbo is only a friend."

"It wasn't Master Baggins to whom I was referring," Thorin huffed, "you have already vexed someone in my company." He seemed almost distant as he spoke, "It isn't difficult to see Kili has grown fond of you, anyone with a pair of eyes can see that."

You stood dumbfounded. "He hasn't said anything."

"As he never should." Thorin turned his whole body so now his gaze was piercing through your soul, "Stay away from my boy."

You froze in place under his fixed stare. "He will notice me avoiding him," You could feel your legs nearly quivering, "H-How?

"I have already told you." Thorin started towards you, "he is distracted," he changed course and walked by you instead, "cure him." Thorin disappeared around the corner of the farmhouse. You exhaled a shaky breath and nodded, though your heart nearly broke at the thought of it. Every piece of you didn't want to, but you needed to do it now. It would only get harder the longer you waited. Despondently, you headed in the direction of the ponies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to take a moment to simply say THANK YOU to any love or support I get from you guys :) it feels amazing to be able to share this with you and have you actually enjoy it!!! Don't expect me to stop anytime soon now, because with you guys behind me it feels like no one can stop me. Stay awesome Ki-lovers ;)


	6. Parasites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Its the troll scene!!! If you don't remember it, I suppose you will have to read and discover for yourself.

You found Kili and Fili walking out of the brush laughing. "Yeah but he has it under control."

Looking around, you noticed, "There's only 12 ponies, you're missing 4."

Kili and Fili lit up, Kili greeting you, "Fancy seeing you here, (y/n)."

"And no worries," Fili nods to you in hello, "our burgalor is taking care of it."

"Bilbo is chasing after horses?" You asked doubtful.

"Oh, erm, yes," Fill nodded, "he seemed fast enough."

You didn't believe it for a second. Looking behind them you also noted, "These trees have been uprooted recently," you tensed up, "by something large."

The two brothers looked at each other nervously, and you clenched your fists. You had read about all kinds of races, and you feared the worst on this one. "Is he trying to take horses from trolls?"

Both of them gave you a look before Kili tried to comfort you by stepping up to you and putting his hands on your shoulders. "It's alright, love, there's no danger in it. Trolls are slow and stupid, master Baggins is fast and small. He will be out of there in no time."

"Bilbo hasn't done a day of stealing anything in his life, we should have everyone ready just in case." You turned around to go back to the company, reluctantly adding, "and don't call me that." You made the mistake of looking back at Kili, he looked like you just kicked him. On the inside, you felt the same way.

You returned to the company, Fili and Kill not far behind. Fill stated before you could, "Four ponies are missing."

Each prince stood on one side of you, the rest of the company stopping mid supper. "How did this happen?" Thorin demanded.

Kili, who had been staring downwards, opened his mouth. However, you spoke before either one of them could, "It was my fault, I asked to speak with them. Technically, just Kili," you eyed at Fili, half to make it seem that he followed you, the other half to ask him to play along.

Play along, he did, "Yeah well, I couldn't leave such a lady alone with this oaf. Anything could happen."

"We sent Bilbo to follow them, but I feel like we should be ready in case he gets into trouble," you gulped, awaiting their answer.

Bofur interjected, "Them?"

The three of you paused. Finally Kili answered, "Trolls, three of 'em."

Thorin paused a moment, before setting his bowl down. "Pick up your arms and follow me," he ordered. Everyone immediately dropped their supper and started running for their weapons. Thorin didn't wait for anyone and pushed between you and Kili.

Kili began, "Uncle, I'm-"

"I expected more from you, all of you," Thorin scolded. He continued on his way and you followed him. Fili and Kili started off to find their weapons. Bofur was behind you, and you slowed down to walk with him.

"Quite a show you put on last night," he gave you a pointed look, "for anyone in particular?"

You considered it for a moment, "I was giving Fili a taste of his own medicine."

"Ah, well miss (y/n), a taste of something he got," he clapped you on the shoulder and you giggled.

"Well then Bofur, got any family back home?" You inquired, folding your hands behind your back.

"Well I got the two ludheads back there, Bifur and Bombur," he pursed his lips, "no kids nor wife though, regrettably." You looked back to see Fili and Kili joking and pushing each other. "I don't think the same fate is for you, lass." You looked back to see Bofur catching who you were staring at.

"Oh no, you've got the wrong idea," you back peddled quickly.

He chuckled to himself, "I'm sure I do." With that, he walked ahead to speak to Thorin, leaving you alone with your thoughts. Up about twenty feet from you there was a light, firelight. Your hands quivered as you smelled something cooking.

Another hand grabbed onto yours, you glanced down at it before looking up to find Kili looking concerned, "I'm sorry we sent him, but I am positive he is okay." You squeezed his hand gently and let go, trying not to look at him.

Thorin looked back from the front and waved at everybody to stay quiet. He directed Bombur, Balin, Gloin, and a few other Dwarves to the other side of the Trolls' camp. Kili and you pushed forward to stand by Thorin, you peeked out of the bush to find Bilbo by the ponies, alive. He was pulling on the ropes and trying to untie them. However, he hid right as a troll looked at him.

The three trolls were horrifically ugly and giant beasts. They smelled like an odor you'd rather not describe. The troll that looked in the horses' direction said, "I hope you're gonna gut these nags. I don't like the stinky parts."

The one who was cooking smacked the one who spoke with a nasally voice. Nasal voice yowled in pain. The one who was cooking had a deeper voice, "I said sit down!"

The third one who was sitting opposite the cook complained, "I'm starving! Are we 'aving horse tonight or what?"

"Shut your cakehole!" Bellowed the cook, "You'll eat what I give ya." You saw Bilbo watching the lot of them. Nasal voice pulled his handkerchief from his pocket, and you saw a lightbulb go off in your friend's head. He was unsuccessful in trying to untie the knot, but he looked back at where nasal voice's handkerchief had been.

You focused and readjusted so you could see what he was looking at, and your eyes widened in surprise. It wasn't the handkerchief, it was what the handkerchief was over. A sharp knife was stuck poorly at his side. Bilbo began to creep towards Nasal voice. "No," you whispered and Thorin glared at you.

"He can do this," Kili whispered in your ear, his hand splayed across your back to steady you. You glance to Thorin, but Thorin was too focused to notice. So you relished in the contact you wouldn't be allowed to have for very much longer.

The Complainer continued to complain, “How come ‘e’s the cook? Everything tastes the same. Everything tastes like chicken.”

"Except the chicken!" Nasal voice added.

"That tastes like fish," Complainer agreed.

The cook seemed displeased. “I’m just saying, a little appreciation would be nice. ‘Thank you very much, Bert,’ ‘Lovely stew, Bert’; how hard is that?" He tasted whatever concoction he was making, "Hmm, it just needs a sprinkle of squirrel dung.”

Nasal voice picked up a mug, but it was taken back from him, "That's MY grog!" The cook shouted.

"Uhhh uhhhh, sorry," even though he apologized, The cook hit Nasal voice with his ladle again, knocking him to the ground.

The cook troll tasted the soup again, “Ooh, that is beautifully balanced, that is.” He allowed Complainer to have a taste. Your attention turned back to Bilbo, who had just gotten behind Nasal voice. He began to reach for the knife, but Nasal voice stood up and scratched his rear. Bilbo looked like he was going to be sick.

Complainer started at it again, “Me guts are grumbling, I’ve got to snaffle something. Flesh I need, flesh!”

Bilbo reached for the knife again, grabbing it. You smiled at Kili, who returned it brightly and you looked back. Nasal voice started to sneeze again and reached for his handkerchief, only he grabbed Bilbo instead. He brought Bilbo around to his face and sneezed all over him. You gasped and clapped a hand over your mouth. Thorin muttered to Fili, "Get her out of here. Now."

Fili nodded and crept over to you, grabbing your forearm. You yanked it away, and you could feel Fili sigh. One arm he wrapped around your midsection and lifted you into the air; the other hand clapsed around your mouth as he dragged you away.You kicked and shook around, but it didn't stop the prince.

He walked you back a minute or so, and put your back against a tree. "Sorry," Fili muttered an apology as he tied your arms around the trunk. He came back around and kissed your cheek, "guess I'll have to be a gentleman later."

You gave him a look that could kill as he walked back to join the others. You closed your eyes and listened hard, picking up conversation. Bilbo seemed to be explaining, "I'm a burglar--ahh-Hobbit."

Nasal voice repeated, "A burgla-hobbit?"

Complainer asked, "Can we cook him?"

A chill ran down your spine and you struggled against the bonds. "We can try!" Nasal voice exclaimed. Thundering footsteps shuffled a bit.

The cook's voice seemed both excited and disappointed, “He wouldn’t make more than a mouthful, not when he’s skinned and boned!”

The Complainer reasoned, “Perhaps there’s more Burglar-Hobbits around these parts. Might be enough for a pie.” There was a great clamoring and you held your breath. The trolls yelled things like "Get him!" Or "It's too quick!"

You listened to the trolls chasing Bilbo until one of them, the Complainer, made everyone stop. “Come here, you little... Gotcha! Are there any more of you little fellas `iding where you shouldn’t?”

You whimpered to yourself and struggled harder, the bindings rubbing your wrists raw. "Nope," Bilbo responded.

"He's lying!" Yelled one of the trolls, Nasal voice.

"No I'm not!" Bilbo yelled out.

Nasal voice was filled with glee and mischief, “Hold his toes over the fire. Make him squeal.”

Just afterwards, there was a rustling of bushes ahead and the ring of metal being unsheathed. Shortly after Nasal voice howled in pain and you heard him fall to the ground. You blinked surprised, who ran out there? Your question was answered as Kili yelled, "Drop him!"

One of the trolls responded, "You what?"

"I said," Kili seethed, "drop him." Your heart fluttered at the sound of his voice. _(No stop it! You have to break his heart. Remember?)_ A thud of bodies hitting the floor triggered the rest of the Dwarves to yell and charge the trolls. You could hear fighting among them all.

Struggling against your bonds, you had managed to loosen them, but not managed to break or untie them. It wasn't long before the clamoring came to a halt and you paused to listen.

"Drop your arms, or we rip his off," one of the trolls threatened. You didn't know who or which member of the company it was, but it sickened your stomach. You pulled against your bonds again and squeezed your eyelids shut. You pulled on the bonds for what seemed like hours. You tried rubbing it against the bark, looking for something sharp, even trying to stand up. The night was beginning to end, you could feel it. Your arms ached from being bent, and your wrists were no doubt rope burned now. The silence from where the trolls and Dwarves are drove you mad.

"(Y/n)," a kind voice snapped you out of your recent tugging session, "What on Earth happened here?" When you opened your eyes, you could see Gandalf approaching you quickly.

"Gandalf," you smiled as he walked behind the tree and untied you quickly. "Trolls took Bilbo and the rest of them. They are not far from here at all. Help me save them," you pleaded as he finished and your arms dropped.

"Why of course, young lady, but we have to be smart about it," he bent over and extended an arm out to you.

You nod and take his giant hand, pulling yourself to your feet. "Okay," you agree, "what do we do?"

"Show me where the trolls are," he answered and nodded at you to lead the way. You walked the short minute until you saw firelight. Approaching it you gaped in horror, the Dwarves were either in bags and tied up, or tied on a rotary above the fire. The trolls were slow roasting some of them.

Gandalf placed a hand on your shoulder. "Follow me," the way Gandalf ordered sounded more like a favor. Your eyes raked over the Dwarves one more time before following. You saw Bilbo in the pile that wasn't being cooked, and that brought you a little relief.

As you crept through the bushes behind Gandalf, you listened to the conversation that had finally picked up again. “Don’t bother cooking them. Let’s just sit on them and squash them into jelly," Nasal voice said.

“They should be sautéed and grilled with a sprinkle of sage," the cook had already decided.

Dori yelled out, "Is this really necessary?"

Nasal voice ignored him, "Oh that does sound quite nice!"

Oin commanded, "Untie us, you monsters!"

Gloin followed shortly after, "Take on someone your own size." Undistingishuable, you could hear Dwarves rustling and talking in fear.

Complainer never failed to give his input, “Never mind the seasoning; we ain’t got all night! Dawn ain’t far away, so let’s get a move on. I don’t fancy being turned to stone.”

You glanced back at a small gap so you could see the trolls and dwarves, oh come _on_ , Bilbo! You and him solved riddles harder than this! You watched the lightbulb go off in his head finally.

Smiling, you continued to follow Gandalf. Bilbo got their attention, "Wait! You are making a terrible mistake!"

Dori yelled from over the fire,"You can't reason with them, their half-wits!"

Not far from Dori, Bofur called out, "Half-wits? What does that make us?!"

Bilbo continued, “Uh, I meant with the, uh, with, uh, with the seasoning.”

The cook inquired, "What about the seasoning?"

Bilbo tried to look confident, "Well have you smelt them? You’re going to need something stronger than sage before you plate this lot up.”

The Dwarves all started yelling curses at Bilbo, calling him a traitor. Both you and Gandalf reached a stopping point before a boulder. You were now watching the scene. The Conplainer was not convinced. "What do you know about cooking Dwarf?"

But Bilbo had the cooks interest. “Shut up, and let the, uh, flurgaburburrahobbit talk.”

Bilbo nodded and looked around flustered, “Uh, th--the secret to cooking dwarf is, um--”

The cook nodded, egging him on, "Yes, come on."

Bilbo looked around again, "Uhhh-."

The cook grew slightly impatient, "Tell us the secret."

Taking a breath, you dashed out into the open to where Bilbo could see you. Once his eyes were on you he said, “Ye--yes, I’m telling you, the secret is … " You made it look like you were rubbing your forearm, then you patted the tree behind you. Right after you made it look like you were tapping a pocket watch. _(Rub them with sap first)._ You could see all the Dwarves look at Bilbo expectantly. "...Skin them first!"

You sighed and shook your head, dashing back to where Gandalf was. The Dwarves were in uproar. The cook waved his hand, "Tom, get me filleting knife."

Gloin hissed at Bilbo, “If I get you, you little--”

Dwalin cuts him off with his own comment, "I won't forget that!"

Complainer did what he did best, "What a load of rubbish! I’ve eaten plenty with their skins on. Scuff them, I say, boots and all.”

Gandalf moved to start climbing on the boulder, waving you to stay put. Nasal voice agreed, “`e’s right! Nothing wrong with a bit of raw dwarf! Nice and crunchy.” The troll picked up Bombur and dangled him over his open mouth.

Bilbo panicked, “Not--not that one, he--he’s infected!”

Nasal stopped and Complainer asked, "You what?"

Bilbo said the first thing that came to mind, “Yeah, He’s got worms in his … tubes.” Nasal dropped Bombur disgusted. “In--in fact they all have, they’re in--infested with parasites. It’s a terrible business; I wouldn’t risk it, I really wouldn’t.”

You watched as all the Dwarves looked offended. Oin called out first, "Parasites? Did he say parasites?"

Kili's voice yelled from the pile, "We don't have parasites! You have parasites!" You bit back a smile as Bilbo rolled his eyes, Dwarves were not the brightest you would admit. More of them called out insults to Bilbo as his plan fell apart. Thorin, as the only one to understand, kicked the others.

They paused for a moment before catching on. Oin went first, "I've got parasites as big as my arms!"

Kili followed, “Mine are the biggest parasites, I’ve got huge parasites!” The whole lot of them started yelling about their parasites.

Complainer, Tom, inquired suspiciously, “What would you have us do, then, let ‘em all go?”

Bilbo paused. “Well...”

Tom scoffed, “You think I don’t know what you’re up to? This little ferret is taking us for fools!”

Bilbo seemed even more confused, “Ferret?”

The cook looked at Tom, “Fools?”

Gandalf emerged atop the rock, “The dawn will take you all!”

The cook squinted, “Who’s that?”

Tom shook his head, “No idea.”

Nasal voice asked, “Can we eat `im too?” Knowing what Gandalf had planned to do, you dashed out and headed straight for the company.

The trolls reached for you right before Gandalf struck the boulder with his staff and it split in two. Sunlight poured through and the trolls started yelling in agony as they started to be turned to stone. You reached Bilbo first and untied him. Bilbo sent straight for the ones over the fire, while you worked on the ones on the ground. From the fire you heard Dwalin say, "Oh get your foot out my back."

Shaken up a bit, each Dwarf thanked you in his own way. Whether that was actually forming a word or grunting, you felt good about it. You untied Kili, avoiding the adorable warm eyes he was undoubtably giving you. But you smiled as you untied him anyways. You moved on from Kili to the last Dwarf, Thorin. Kneeling down in front of him, you began working at the knots in his hands.

"That was a risky move, dashing out in the open here, twice I might add," Thorin grunted.

You glanced up at him briefly before returning your focus. "Bilbo would have crashed and burned trying to come up with some secret to cooking. Given, that wasn't what I had in mind, but it was better than nothing, and I suppose-"

"Stop rattling," Thorin ordered and you shut up. "It was a reckless move, and I shouldn't have to worry about you doing it again. Understood?"

You finished untying him and he rubbed his wrists together before shaking the sack off. "Of course," you agree and stand up.

"You wrestled with your bonds for quite some time, didn't you?" He mused and you looked back down at him. Your gaze dropped to your wrists, which appeared to be wearing red bracelets. Puzzled, you began to rub them and stopped, they hurt but only when you had to bend your hand or touched them.

"Give my regards to Fili," you sassed.

"Give them to me yourself," Fili spoke from behind you. You turned around to see him picking up his things. "Let me see 'em." You held them out and he grabbed your hands, turning them to see the whole thing. "Shoulda done it a little tighter. You shoulda bled after the fight you put up."

After he dropped your hands you reached back and slapped him as hard as you could, throwing his whole head to the side. Some of the Dwarves looked, but most treated it as if it was normal. "That-"

"I know," Fili nodded and smiled at you, "I deserved that." He cradled the whole side of your head in his hand, nodded, and moved on. You shook your hand out and huffed. Somehow, you felt that hurt you a lot more than it hurt him. You walked back to Gandalf who was overseeing what you had done.

"An interesting way to scold someone, no doubt," his eyes fixed on Fili.

"No less than he deserved," you defended yourself.

Gandalf smiled down at you, "I don't doubt it." He looked back at the company, who were almost recouped.

You tugged on his robe, bringing his attention to you again. "Why did you try to keep me from coming? Is it because you didn't think I belonged here?" He looked troubled at you, answering your question. "Well you're wrong, and I'll find a way to prove it to you."

His gaze softened and he exhaled, "You Hobbits have such small bodies, but such large hearts." It was all he said before he approached one of the statued trolls. He had a pleased look on his face as he thumped one of them with his staff.

"Where did you go to, if I may ask?" Thorin approached Gandalf.

"To look ahead," Gandalf explained.

Thorin seemed almost delighted to see the wizard again. "What brought you back?"

Gandalf explained, "Looking behind." Thorin nodded in gratitude. Your eyes caught sight of Bilbo, who had found Bofur's hat and was handing it off to him. He adopted that relaxed look once he saw you. You jogged to where he was and threw your arms around him.

"Thanks," he sighed.

"For?" You asked as you stroked a hand down through his hair.

"That thing you did, running out and helping me," he responded fondly.

You half giggled-half snorted. "Trying to, anyways. That was supposed to be 'rub them with tree sap first'."

He shrugged the best he could under your arms. "I got two of the words right." Pulling away, you looked at his rather tired expression once more before turning away. You could see the two Dwarf princes practically skipping up to you.

"Fancy having a bit of fun?" Kili asked you.

"I don't know," you responded amused, "what does 'a bit of fun' entail?"

Fili's lips tugged upwards, "a couple of sword lessons. I figured your arm was strong enough after that slap. Besides, you should be able to have a shot should we run into trouble."

You looked around to see Thorin and Gandalf still engaged in conversation. Turning back to them you nodded. "I'm in."


	7. The Whip

Thorin called over everyone, "Everybody split up into groups of 3 and 4 and look for a cave!"

You rolled your eyes, Thorin always found a way. However, Kili and Fili seemed unphased as each of them grabbed your arm. They pulled you off into the woods. Fili put a sword in your hand, which was unbelievably heavy to you. "What are you doing?"

"Perfect chance if you ask me," Fili shrugged, "alright Kili, go hide somewhere that direction."

You looked after Kill confused as he disappeared in the direction Fili pointed. "What-?"

"Alright, I'll teach you the basics," Fili stated as he drew his sword, "just mirror what I do." You nodded and held up the sword, Glancing down to match his footwork, you began to mirror him at he walked. Over a couple minutes he showed you how to block, thrust, strike, and slice. Out of nowhere, he thrust his sword at you and you barely side stepped, gasping. "Good. You have common sense," he seemed pleased.

Your heart was pounding, you awaited his next move. He swung the sword over his head and you held yours up to block it. Hardly successfully doing so, he sheathed the blade back in it's scabbard. "Good enough, now be on your guard. My brother could be anywhere out there." He nodded in the direction of where he sent Kili.

Nodding, you looked at where Fili was sending you and hesitantly took careful steps towards it. Pushing through the bushes, you stared into the lush forest, seeming empty. After a deep breath, you gripped your sword and proceeded with caution. It wasn't long before you felt a disturbance, and you whipped around just in time to block Kili's sword. He thrusted and you perried. He swung and you blocked and sliced. He dodged, and then began swinging at you a lot faster.

You were just barely keeping up with him as it was, and now he had you backing up. Every inch of your body was focused on this match, your surroundings were lost. All you could see were Kili's face and his sword. Your arms trembled and your opponent never slowed down, if anything he was speeding up. Finally, your back hit a tree and your sword was knocked from your hand. In a final swing, you flinched as his blade was shoved into the ground, and his knife ended up stuck in the tree an inch above your head. Leaned in, Kili's face was so close to yours that you could only see his eyes. Your panting breath mixed with his. "Not bad," he breathed before steadying his breathing. You were still panting, as his eyes bore into yours before softening.

"You could of killed me," you looked at his arm and followed it up to the hand above your head.

"Maybe," his tone was silky and attractive, "but _I_   _am_  a gentlemen, you could of stopped me by telling me to."

A warning alarm went off in your head. "Perhaps," you say before ducking under his arm, "perhaps we should get back to your brother."

A hand firmly gripped yours and spun you. "Why are you avoiding me?" He smirked, "it's because you like me isn't it?"

"No," you had to choke out, "it's because I don't." Hurt and rejection flashed in his eyes. Those couple of moments seemed to last for an eternity. He nodded and let you go. You turned to leave, but stopped as he spoke, "Am I a fool, for wanting such a beauty?" You turned back to look at him, and saw Thorin with his group nearby. Thorin's gaze was fixed elsewhere, but it was clear he was listening."You can not tell me you don't feel anything! Because when I looked at you for the first time, when you shouted at Gandalf, something happened inside me. It was as if my very soul saw you and said 'that's the one, Kili, now don't let her go'."

You exhaled a shaky breath, the first time someone was confessing to you and you had to reject him. He dropped to his knees in front of you, took your hands, and continued, "I don't care if you don't love me now, or ever. I don't care if you break my heart a thousand times over. I will never stop chasing you, not when you are married to someone else, not when you have a family and your age is beyond counting, never." He bent down and pressed his lips to your hands. "I promise." Immediately after, he stood up and walked around you, back into the bushes.

A single teardrop formed and slipped down your cheek. You wiped it away and sighed, looking up to see Thorin gazing in your direction. Shaking your head, you huffed and sat down against a tree. Your head fell into your hands, heart torn a trillion different ways. But Thorin was right, Kili needed to focus, how could he do so when you were on his mind? Besides, it would only end badly, one of you could perish, or worse. If both of you survived, what then? The prince would never leave Erebor, and you doubted that you could stay. You had the Shire, and Bilbo.

There was nothing you can do, not at the moment. There was no reason to be sobbing about it now. You peeked up to see that you had been left alone, feeling empty. Standing up, you blinked a couple of times before sighing and going back where Kili and Fili would be. You had to break someone's heart, though every time you did you were breaking your own.

Solemnly, you left to search for Kili and Fili. You got back to where Fili used to be, however, they weren't there. Puzzled, you headed back to the three stone trolls. Unfortunately, they weren't there either. Starting to get nervous, you trecked back to where you last saw Fili again. Your heart dropped as you didn't see them. Wandering in a different direction, you sought fit to continue searching for a cave, as Thorin suggested.

You started to grow nervous as the minutes piled up. Time went by until you felt that creeping sensation of being watched. The lush forest seemed less friendly than before. Your eyes flicked back and forth, trying to recognize any sort of landmark. You would turn back, but it already felt as if you were going in circles. You stopped as you heard footsteps. "Kili? Fili?" You called out happily. The footsteps stopped, and then started towards you. They seemed like heavier footsteps. "Kili, if that's you I'm sorry."

You froze as you stopped in front of what came from the bushes; something that was NOT Kili. You were standing in front of one of _them_ , one of the creatures that killed your mother. He was at least twice as tall as you were, and he stood next to a wolf like beast with beady eyes. "No you're not," the thing hissed in it's slimy voice, "not yet."

* * *

 

 

Your hands were bound, again. Though this time so were your feet, and a rag was stuffed into your mouth. Bent over forwards, you rode behind the evil being on his wolf, you were positioned so that every step felt like a punch to the gut. Finally, the creature stopped and you were yanked off the beast. Thrown to the ground and flipped over, the rag was yanked from your mouth. You looked around to see a whole herd of wolves with riders. "Where are the rest of you maggots?" One of them asked you, yanking on your hair to look up at him.

When you didn't respond at first, coughing instead, one of their hands whipped across your face. You winced as you felt the red hot needles on your cheek. "I don't know; I was lost," you explained.

"Tell us, or we will make your pathetic life miserable," another one threatened.

"I. Don't. Know." You repeated, telling the truth. The tallest one you deemed leader crouched down to get in your face. You fought the urge to turn and vomit. The stench was horrid, blood reeking in his breath.

His hot and foul breath covered your face as he seethed, "I will be able to believe that soon enough."

Your eyes squinted slightly, trying to make sense of his words. He turned to the rest in his company, yelling, "String her to the stakes." A roar of laughter arose from the group and most walked around you. The leader gripped your chin with bruising force, making you stay looking at him. "You are going to be in another world of pain, filth."

You spat at him, only for him to growl and stand up straight, nodding. Two arms hoisted you up and shoved you in the direction of 'the stakes'. Seeing as your feet and hands were still bound, you fell face first into dirt. "Crawl, little worm," one of them seemed to chant. You looked up to see two trees that had been cut sticking up from the ground. They both stood at least five times taller than you.

You heard growling behind you and hesitantly, you looked back. A couple of those wolves were tied up on leads, held by the leader. He seemed almost bored, "Crawl quickly, I can't hold on forever." As an example, he let the lead slip forward a little bit and the wolves inched closer.

Panicked, you turned around and wasted no time in inching your way forward. The group howled in laughter at you, but you tried to ignore it. He was almost out of rope when you reached the stakes and propped yourself up into a sitting position, looking at the leader and panting.

He handed the leash off to another one of his kind before nodding to his people again, speaking in a language that you didn't understand. Two of his company walked up to you, cut your bonds and yanked you up to your feet. In horror, you realized what they were doing. It was too late, each wrist was bound separately, a tight rope from the top of each stake tied to your wrists. You screamed out as the evil creatures, the _Orcs_ , pulled on the rope some more; making you lift into the air.

All of your weight pulled down on your wrists as you were hoisted into the air. When the Orcs deemed you were high enough, they tied off the rope and stood back. The leader approached you slowly, a cruel looking knife in hand. "I don't know where they are!" You cried out.

He only began laughing, continuing his approach until he was mere inches in front of your body. You were dangling in the air in front of him, your head just a foot above his own. His black eyes looked at you with wickedness gleaming in them. Raising the knife, he touched it to your lips. You paused, staring at him, unable to move anywhere else. He dragged it down to your neck, and across your collar bone to your shoulder. The blade slipped under the sleeve and he flicked upwards. The whole sleeve fell away from your arm, the slit he put in it making it dangle below.

You started to sway, uncomfortably, as he dragged the blade across your collar bone to your other sleeve. He ripped that one as well. Your breathing came in short panicked gasps as you realized what he was doing. He slowly dragged the knife back, stopping at your neckline. You kicked out at him, striking his leg. He grunted, but it was clear you hadn't done much damage.

When he looked up at you again, his eyes murderous, he snarled and raised the knife. You squeezed your eyes shut and listened to a long ripping sound. Seconds afterwards, a breeze brushed on your bare skin. You dared not open your eyes, for you were afraid you wouldn't be able to block out what you were seeing and hearing. The leader shouted something at his company, and they all hollered and hooted with laughter.

After a couple more seconds, you heard the leader walk away and come back. "Tell me, woman filth, where is your company?"

"I don't know," the words came out almost like a pleading, something cracked and a sharp warm pain on your stomach made your eyes fly open. You were stark naked, tied up in front of a bunch of Orcs, the leader held a small whip. He was smiling viciously and raising his hand. The pain echoed on the same spot, making you cry out. The other Orcs were getting riled up, and your embarrassment and pain were steadily growing.

"I don't know," you choked out as another round of them lashed on your legs. You whimpered as he walked around behind you. He started whipping you over and over again. He hit your back at least seven times as a whole. Tears were streaming down your face now. You don't know how long he would have kept whipping you, if it hadn't been for another rider on a wolf beast.

This one came barreling in and interrupted the whole ordeal. "We found the Dwarf-scum outside a troll cave," he spat as he talked.

Everyone paused and looked at the leader, who contemplated what to do. After a second, he shoved his whip into an Orc and took his knife out again. Both of the ropes that were holding you up were sliced, and your body collapsed into the dirt.

Your wrists were on fire, and your entire body felt like it was shredded. You were lucky the lashes didn't cleave flesh from bone, but the one on your stomach was definitely an angry red mark. You didn't have the energy to begin to untie the remaining strings of rope that were still tied around your wrists. All of that energy was spent whimpering and crying.

The leader picked up those strings and dragged you through the dirt to the Orc scout. "Kill her in front of them, then bring me the head of the King," he snarled.

You groaned, looking up at the Orc who picked you up and bent you over the back of the beast. Another scout joined the one you were on, and the two of them took off. You had to grip the fur to stay on this time, coughing every other bound from the monster. It wasn't long before you slowed to a creep, the other scout had since left your side.

You were creeping up the side of a hill. You could hear the other Orcs in the distance, one of their own howling their location. You heard Bilbo ask one of the others, “Was that a wolf? Are there--are there wolves out there?”

Bofur was the one who responded, "Wolves?" He sounded filled with dread, "No, that is not a wolf."

You could hear a loud fight between the first scout, who was thankfully slain by Thorin as you peeked. You rolled off the back as the one you were riding leaped into battle. You hit the ground at the top of the hill. Listening as they took that one out too. "Warg-Scouts!" Thorin declared, "which means an Orc pack is not far behind."

Bilbo asked another question, "Orc pack?"

You could see Gandalf interrogating Thorin, “Who did you tell about your quest, beyond your kin?”

"No one," Thorin replied.

"Who did you tell?!" Gandalf exclaimed.

"No one, I swear!" Thorin stood by his point, "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You're being hunted," Gandalf answered. You thought about not going with them, after all, they didn't seem to notice your absence. You shook your head, you told Thorin until your last breath, you supposed that counted your dignity as well. You crawled up to the top of the hill and stood up, covering yourself as best as you could with your hands and arms.

Balin caught sight of you first. He pointed at you and stuttered, "T-Thorin!"

Everybody turned in your direction. A lot of their jaws dropped, but not in the good way. Thorin's eyes widened as he caught sight of you. You were taking baby steps down the hill, however, your bad ankle caused you to slip. You tumbled down the hill stark naked, stopping at the bottom. You instantaneously sat up, crossed your legs, and folded your arms over your chest. "(Y/n)," Thorin said your name for the first time. You had always expected it to sound like a curse, but it was more of a caress.

Thorin shook himself from his shock and stepped forward. He took long strides up to you, shedding his coat. Crouching behind you, he wrapped the material around your shoulders and helped you into it. "It would appear, my nephews, she had not run off after all." The fur coat he had put on you was plenty long enough to cover you. He helped you untie the rope around each wrist before he slipped his tree trunks of arms under you and stood up. "Kili," you could feel Thorin's chest rumble as he spoke, "carry the girl."

You were rather surprised that Thorin picked him of all people. Kili nodded, and stepped forward. "Of course." Thorin passed you to Kili, who bent down and rested his forehead against yours briefly. His eyes shut as he soaked up your presence.

"Is she going to be alright?" Bilbo asked more concerned than anyone.

"We have to get out of here," Dwalin pointed out while looking around.

Ori called out, "We can't, there's no ponies! They bolted!"

"I'll draw them off," you looked over to the new voice. A very odd looking man spoke from next to a sled attached to rabbits. You squinted your eyes as you watched him. What was with the bird poop on that guy?

Gandalf didn't approve of the plan, "These are Gundabad Wargs; they will outrun you."

The weird looking guy gestured to his sled. "These are Rhosgobel Rabbits; I'd like to see them try."

Gandalf hesitated, but nodded. "We need to move immediately," he said to no one in particular.

Gandalf lead everyone including Thorin. When you looked up at Kili, he was focused. But there was more. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were dark with a concealed rage. There was a lightning storm brewing beneath them. You couldn't stop a tiny whine from escaping you as his hand on your back slid up a half step. The clouds in his eyes cleared and he looked down at you in sympathy. "Sorry," he slid his hand back, continuing to walk with you.

With everyone stopping at a crouch, before a clearing, you watched as Gandalf peeked out from the bushes. He shook his head to the others. You closed your eyes and pressed your face into Kili's neck. He smelled like sweat mixed with the woods and something along the lines of Cider. But even the sweat smell was almost welcoming to you, heat radiated from his body. Thorin's coat smelled of the wilderness, like it has seen countless miles of the outdoors. It probably had.

You jumped as you heard the whip cracking from the Orcs on Wargs. Kili turned his attention to you, kissing your forehead. "It's okay," he whispered, "I'm right here. Nothing is going to happen to you." Soon after, the odd man's sled bounded out of the woods. Wargs were close on his tail, but he seemed cheerful as he yelled out at them.

Gandalf peeked out again and gestured for you all to continue on. "Come on!" The company stood up and rushed onto the rocky plain. They sprinted for a half mile before they caught sight of the odd man and the wargs in the distance. They all stopped behind rocks. "Stay together!" Gandalf ordered to everyone.

After a pause Thorin hissed to everyone, "Move." And they did, dashing out into the open again. You could feel Kili's breathing laboured, as everyone's was, you wished you could run alongside them, rather than being dead weight.

As the chase continued, you all stop behind a rock with Gandalf. Ori began to dash out into the open, just a little too soon. “Ori, no! Come back!" Thorin ordered.

“Come on! Quick!” Gandalf was clearly at the top of his adrenaline level.

As the Dwarves continued running, you looked back to see Thorin turn to Gandalf. “Where are you leading us?”

You couldn't see Gandalf answer, but it looked as if he hadn't. You focused you attention ahead and all around. The odd man had taken the Warg riders too close to you, and the company took cover under an outcropping of rock. You could hear the claws scratch against the rock above you. One of them was scenting the air. Thorin nodded to Kili, who handed you off to Fili. Readying an arrow, Kili stepped out quickly and turned around.

He shot down the Orc and Warg, and the rest of the Dwarves pounced on them. You winced, as it was extremely loud and hard to listen to. You heard Wargs begin to howl as Gandalf muttered, "Move." He instantly grew loud, yelling, "RUN!"

Fili ran with you in his arms, he had a firm grip that made you feel secure. But the grip he held also made it harder for you to stay comfortable, it was one price you were willingly paying. The company raced across a grassy plain, you looked over Fili's shoulder to see Wargs beginning to surround you.

"There they are!" Gloin shouted, pointing at some of them.

"This way! Quickly!" Gandalf shouted in response. Everyone emerged onto a grassy clearing, their feet carrying them by the speed of the wind.

They halt in the middle, Wargs were closing in fast. "There's more coming!" Kili called out.

Thorin responded, "Kili! Shoot them!"

"We're surrounded!" Fili's voice brimmed with despair.

Kili started pulling out arrows and shooting the Wargs, killing quite a few. Something about the stance he took and the skill he had made you tingle inside. "Where is Gandalf?!" He cried.

Dwalin, from beside you, looked behind himself. "He has abandoned us!" You looked back to see Gandalf had indeed disappeared. Fili and most of the company, save Kili, was being practically pressed back into a large rock.

Thorin unsheathed his sword. "Hold your ground!"

"This way, you fools!" You heard Gandalf shout, everyone looked back to see him popped out from a crack in the rock.

“Come on, move! Quickly, all of you! Go, go, go!” Thorin ordered. Bilbo and the Dwarves jumped down. Fili and you were last of the group. He tried to cradle you as tightly to himself as he could before sliding down.

Gandalf set to counting, "Nine. Ten. Eleven."

Meanwhile, Thorin slayed a Warg that had gotten too close. He looked out into the distance. "Kili! Run!" You held your breath, waiting. Gandalf, with surprising grace, walked down into the hole with ease. Soon after, Thorin helped toss Kili down before sliding down himself.

Fili's grip was bruisingly tight now, as you all listened to the Wargs outside the hole. Just as they reached your spot, a horn sounded in the distance. You would have assumed it was reinforcements for the Orcs, if it weren't for the sounds of arrows whizzing through the air and striking them. The whole company froze, listening to the conflict.

An Orc who rode by the entrance to your hiding place was shot and he fell, tumbling to your feet. Thorin plucked the arrow from his body and examined it. "Elves," he stated and sneered at Gandalf.

The attention turned to Dwalin who was staring into what you were assuming was a tunnel. "I cannot see where the pathway leads. Do we follow it or no?"

Bofur practically shooed him, "Follow it, of course!" The Dwarves had set off to continue down the pathway.

Kili took you back from his brother, nodding in thanks. You gripped onto his shoulders, half hugging him. His breath was shaking from adrenaline, but he seemed fine otherwise. His hand accidentally slipped past the coat and he quickly shifted so it was outside again. You had almost forgotten you were completely naked underneath Thorin's jacket.

"I think that would be wise," you heard Gandalf say suspiciously. You looked back at him questioningly, and he gave you a small wink. You smiled, he was leading you to the Elves all along. Making a motion like your lips were sealed, you focused on helping Kili and you fit through the narrow path. It only got narrower as time went along, most of the Dwarves had a hard time fitting through.

Eventually, you saw a blade of light, but it wouldn't be able to fit Kili through, not while carrying you like this. Kili seemed to notice that as well, and looked down at you in thought. Feeling heat rise to your face, you pushed down on his shoulders, readjusting. You wrapped your bare legs around his middle, the coat hanging behind them.

He swallowed thickly, his eyes clouding with something different. To avoid the awkwardness, you rested your head on his shoulder. His hands kept you up by your waist, you were thankful the coat stayed over your chest and stomach. The feeling of his leather jacket against your more sensitive parts was incredibly uncomfortable, but it was the only way to get you through. He walked the rest of the way until you both were submerged in light.

Hastily, you unwrapped your legs and he breathed out some form of tension as he switched to carrying you bridal style again. "I can walk," you stated before Kili pressed you tighter against his chest.

"No," he scolded, "you need medical attention. Maybe they can help with that." He looked blissfully down into a different location. Following his gaze, your whole face lit up. The valley was gorgeous, the town indescribably beautiful.

“The Valley of Imraldis. In the Common Tongue, it’s known by a another name," Gandalf told you indirectly.

"Rivendell," Bilbo murmured in awe. You weren't surprised he knew this place, when he was younger he used to talk for ages about setting to find Elves.

Gandalf continued, “Here lies the last Homely House east of the sea.”

Thorin was fuming, “This was your plan all along, to seek refuge with our enemy.”

Gandalf commented in a calming tone, “You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself.”

Thorin stood by his opinion, “You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us.”

Gandalf replied, “Of course they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful, this will need to be handled with tact and respect and no small degree of charm. Which is why you will leave the talking to me.”


	8. Rivendel!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You wind up being in Rivendell, and you discover that the Elves aren't as bad as the Dwarves make them out to be. SPOILER ALERT:... Just kidding who needs spoilers ;)

The trip downhill into Rivendell was quiet, nobody dared to speak while Thorin was silent. Listening, you were allowed to hear a lot more coming from the city. Beautiful harp music and birds chirping rang all the way to you. The sounds steadily grew louder as you approached a bridge leading into the city. You had tried to step down twice, but Kili refused to let you go, insisting you were not a burden.

After crossing the bridge you entered the beautiful city, and your eyes greedily ran over your surroundings. Finally, you caught sight of an Elf, it was a couple of female Elves, giggling as they strolled. They were flawless, and you were especially confused as to why the Dwarves didn't prefer them. Both you and Bilbo looked around in awe, nothing you had seen before compared to this beauty.

However, the feeling you and Bilbo experienced was not popular among the Dwarves. Nearly every one of them was on edge, even Thorin. In the front of the group you were intercepted by a male Elf who made his way down a flight of stairs to meet you. "Mithrandir," He greeted fondly.

"Ah, Lindir," Gandalf returned the emotion, as if he could relax.

While the two off them greeted each other, Thorin whispered to Dwalin. You couldn't make out what he had said, however. Kili's thumb rubbed circles on your leg, waiting. The Elf said something in a language you didn't understand.

Gandalf replied, "I must speak with Lord Elrond."

The Elf looked puzzled. "My Lord Elrond is not here."

"Not here? Where is he?" Gandalf inquired, just after, the same horn from before blew again. Turning around, the company saw a group of armed horsemen riding straight for them.

Thorin yelled out, “Ifridî bekâr!” and any Dwarve who could drew their weapon. "Hold your rank!" He yelled shortly after. Bilbo, you, and Kili sunk into the middle as the Dwarves formed a circle. The Elves reached you and began to surround your people. Easily doing so, they stood in a neat formation around you.

One Elf separated himself from the others and made his way forward. He had a regal look to him, a beautiful headpiece atop his long brown hair. "Gandalf." He greeted formally. The wizard bowed gracefully.

“Lord Elrond. Mellonnen! Mo evínedh?” Gandalf asked. You weren't positive what tongue he was speaking, but it must have been there tongue of the Elves. The language was beautiful and rolled gracefully. Elrond replied in the same language as Gandalf had spoken to him. Dismounting off his horse, Lord Elrond and Gandalf hugged.

Lord Elrond switched back to Common tongue, “Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something, or someone, has drawn them near.” He held up a sword that belonged to an Orc and handed it to Lindir.

"Ah," Gandalf admitted, "That may have been us."

Thorin stepped forward, Elrond looked upon him with recognition. "Welcome Thorin, son of Thrain."

"I do not believe we have met," Thorin responded coolly.

Lord Elrond nodded, "You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain."

"Indeed; he made no mention of you."

Ignoring the insult from Thorin, Elrond turned to the Dwarves and spoke in his tongue. It seemed commanding and forceful, which made you shift uncomfortably in Kili's arms. Gloin spoke irritated, "What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" At the remark, the Dwarves appeared to be bellicrose and grew restless.

Gandalf responded exasperated, " No, Master Gloin, he is offering you food."

The Dwarves pause, then turn around to each other to discuss it. Everyone resumed their previous position, and Gloin retracted his words. "Ah, well in that case, lead on."

Lord Elrond looked nearly smug as he began to turn around, then paused at the sight of you. His smile disappeared and his brows knit forward. "Bring her to me," he ordered. Everyone's attention turned to the two of you. Kili fidgeted, but refused to step forward.

Your half opened eyes looked up and Kili, and you sighed before pushing up on his shoulders again. Only this time, instead of wrapping your legs around him, your feet set down on the ground. He looked at you bewildered, but didn't stop you. You turned around to the Lord, and nodded in greeting. You took one step forward, but it was as if the ground was covered in butter. Your knee slipped under you and you collapsed.

But your body did not come in contact with the hard floor, your fall had been broken. Your eyes drifted up to see Lord Elrond had caught you, and was kneeling on the floor holding you. You were so tired, and you couldn't explain why. The Elf brought a hand to rest on your forehead for a moment, and his eyes squinted. You had imagined his hand to be smooth, and it was. It was soft, not in the way that fabric is, but in the way cool steel was.

His hand traveled down and had begun to open the jacket, your energy had been drained to the point that you couldn't even form an expression to stop him. "Don't," Kili commanded meekly. Lord Elrond looked up at him waiting for him to explain. So he did, "she has no clothes on underneath."

The Elf looked back down at you, his hand had paused at your mid collarbone. Stopping that treck, he instead moved it down to your stomach, opening just a slit. As if he couldn't see well enough, he closed it unsatisfied and pulled the coat up your legs. He stopped after he hand uncovered the lashes on your thighs. You looked down to see the angry red marks had seemed to bruise, but it seemed darker than bruises. Black lines shot like spiderwebs from where you had been whipped.

"Def-lorn," he mumbled under his breath and looked up to the company. "You are lucky to have gotten her here so early. This happened today, if you had shown up tomorrow you wouldn't have shown up with her," he put lightly.

"What is that?" Thorin asked, like the Elf had a property of his that he didn't like held.

"It is a silent poison, Thorin Oakenshield, crafted by the Orcs," Elrond answered whilst moving your hair from your face. Gently, his fingers ghosted over your lips. "Her breath has already turned cold," he looked up with sudden haste. "Lindir!" He said something in Elvish, and the Elf who had greeted you took you from Lord Elrond. You had just enough time to see the company start to become anxious while watching you before your vision blackened.

* * *

 

You awoke some hours later, it was early evening. With your different senses waking up, you were able to flex your fingers in a fabric. A bed. You were actually in a bed. Your eyes fluttered open to see Lord Elrond at your bedside, mumbling in his language. He stopped and his eyes opened as well, looking pleased to see you. "You are a long way from home, (y/n), daughter of (y/father's/n)."

You whispered, "I am in the midst of helping someone find theirs."

You closed your eyes again, memorizing the feeling of sleeping in a bed again. Sitting up slowly, you looked down to notice Thorin's jacket had been replaced by a silken dress. "I hope you don't fret, my medicine does not work when applied to cloth over a wound."

Slightly embarrassed, you shook your head in understanding. "Thank you," you said, lifting the gown to see the lash marks has since begun to fade.

Lord Elrond brushed a strand of hair behind your ear. You looked back to the Elf. "You remind me of my daughter, Arwen," he stated fondly, "your hearts are the same."

You heard a female Elf speak from the doorway, and looked over to her, "Though she packs all of that heart into a much smaller frame." She was flawless like the other Elves, her long raven hair spilling down her back. She smiled gently and sat at the foot of your bed. "There is another Hobbit who is asking you see you."

"Again," Lord Elrond confirmed amused. Bilbo slowly peered in the doorway, and saw you awake. With great haste, he approached the bed beaming. You laughed as he hugged you tightly, like he had lost you for ages.

"I was so worried you wouldn't wake up," Bilbo explained as he hugged you, "I was so worried." He repeated as almost a whimper. You wrapped your arms tightly around his shoulders and breathed in his familiar scent. Letting go, he looked as if he had just remember something, "Oh, right, erm, Lord Elrond!" You looked over to Elrond, who was smiling pleasantly, "Your cook has told me to tell you that-"

Gandalf interrupted, "My Lord Elrond, it is time to eat."

Elrond chuckled and ran a hand through your hair again. "Then let us feast." He stood and walked around the bed. "Arwen, could you tend to remaining patients?" The she-elf nodded and gracefully ducked out of the room. Elrond offered and hand down to you, and you took it happily. You couldn't see why the Dwarves hated the Elves.

The four of you walked outside into a breezeway, your hand still reaching slightly up to hold onto Elrond's. While you walked through the halls of Rivendell, Gandalf's voice seemed to almost echo off the walls, “Kind of you to invite us. I'm not really dressed for dinner.”

Elrond responded, "Well, you never are." Laughing, you continued onto the courtyard where the company was eating. Lord Elrond let go of your hand and rested it around your neck on your shoulder. "Go and join your company," he encouraged. You both turned from looking at each other to the table. You approached them swiftly, Fili's eyes saw you first.

He nudged his brother, who brushed him off. Rolling his eyes, Fili shoved Kili and this time Kili turned around to him irritated. He pointed in your direction, in which you saw Kili look still aggravated. Once he saw you, his whole entire being lit up. Bilbo had already sat himself down next to Balin. Kili rushed around the table and at you. You almost thought about dodging, but what was the point.

You smiled and outstretched your arms for him, and he practically engulfed you inside him. His whole being seemed to cover yours in happiness. "I am so happy you're okay," he breathed into the top of your head. "Come eat with us."

"It hasn't been three days yet. I'm not eating, I'm not even sitting at that table!" You giggled into his chest. You looked up into his eyes, which were filled with mischief.

"Oh yes you are," he said and picked you up again, this time slinging you over his shoulder. He turned back and carried you triumphantly to the table, the company cheering.

He sat you in between him and Fili, who draped an arm across you. "Welcome back, miss (y/n)!!" He yelled merrily, and everyone else joined in.

You listened to Elrond at the end of the long table, he was holding a sword that Thorin had given him, “This is Orcrist, the Goblin Cleaver. A famous blade, forged by the High Elves of the West, my kin. May it serve you well.” Handing Orcist back, he took up Gandalf's new sword in hand. “And this is Glamdring, the Foe-hammer, sword of the King of Gondolin. These swords were made for the goblin wars of the First Age...”

Ignoring the rest of it, you saw Bilbo and Balin muttering to each other. You watched at the Dwarves laughed and shouted merrily at one another. You turned your attention back to the Elf. He asked, “How did you come by these?”

Gandalf answered, “We found them in a troll hoard on the Great East Road, shortly before we were ambushed by orcs.”

Elrond continued with his investigation, "And what were you doing on the Great East Road?" No one answered, and you saw Thorin look perturbed. He stood up from the table and made his way out of the courtyard. Something itched at you to go after him. After a lot of inner termoil, you decided you would. Hesitantly, you got up and followed him, promising that you will be fine to other Dwarves. But you avoided their questions as to where yoy were going.

It took you forever to find him. You found Thorin standing and staring out a window in a nearby room, his room, supposedly. "What are you doing here?" Thorin asked, his head just slightly tilted to the side.

You swallowed nervously, thinking that this might have not been the best idea. "I, um," you took a couple steps into the room, your hands behind your back. "I came to thank you."

"For what?" He responded, his head moving back to its previous location. "I have done nothing but insult you and make things harder on you from the day we met."

"No you haven't, " you shook your head while inching forward, "you put me by the fire that night."

He was just as stubborn as he was to Gandalf, "Yes, but if it weren't for me you could have sat by that fire every night."

"You also lent me your jacket just today," you pointed out.

He exhaled out of his nose. "I was just doing was any of us would have done; had they not acted like they had never seen a naked woman before." You held back an embarrassed blush. "Then again, you aren't like any Dwarf woman, of which we are accustomed to." You were close enough that were you standing beside him. "As I said before, you have nothing to thank me for."

"Fine. Then I'm sorry," you decided to take a different route.

"For what?" He asked confused, his eyes focused outside.

"For not dying. For being a burden," you clarified before turning, and leaning against the wall. Thorin clenched his jaw, but he didn't say anything. "Can I ask you something?"

"Might as well do something other than breathing my air, hmm?" He replied coolly.

You looked down. "Why don't you like the Elves? I heard you say something about them, but I can't quite recall it now."

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw him raise an eyebrow in your direction. "It was some time ago, Erebor came to ruin and ashes when Smaug attacked. No amount of ranks could compete with dragon fire. We fled out of the mountain, and as I did, I saw them. Elves. Watching us, like someone would watch ants being exterminated. Nothing more, we were just pests in their eyes. The Elves looked on as Orcs took Moria as well, our last safe place. No help came from them then, no help will come from them now."

He had the same perturbed expression on his face, the bitter memory fading. "I don't blame you," that wasn't what he was expecting. He must have been used to having no one but his kin on his side, sometimes not even that. You could see how that would make someone as bitter ass he was. "I'm sorry you had to go through that." You paused for a moment, he sighed as if it was refreshing. "And I know you don't want me here, but I will help you until the end; or until death take me," you repeated again, starting for the door. You weren't stopped until you had one foot out of the door.

"I was happy when news reached of your survival," Thorin muttered, his tone much softer. You paused, but continued out of his room, heart warmed.

You found yourself in a garden of sorts, flowers bloomed everywhere, even on the willow trees. You sighed, staring up as the twinkling blanket that covered you. It didn't surprise you as footsteps came to find you minutes later."(Y/n), " you heard your name slip from Kili's lips. Turning around, you saw him against the moonlight. He sighed looking at you. "I hate to admit it, but you look beautiful in Elven clothing."

You roll your eyes, turning them back up to the stars. "Just because your uncle has a certain opinion of the Elves does not mean you have to agree," you declared.

"I know," Kili said as if he has already explained this to someone, "but I have to sympathize with him. To see an elders death would be horrifying, especially if you could do nothing to stop their gruesome fate." You tensed up, folding your arms and suddenly chilled. "Wait a minute, " Kili noticed your sudden change in behavior. "Did you?"

You nodded and explained as he approached you, "When I was young, I was always doing things I shouldn't. I would wander too far into the woods and would stay there for hours, I would talk to people my parents did not deem wise."

"You were just adventurous, that's all," Kili affirmed as he came to stand by you.

"Yeah, a little too adventurous. I don't remember much, I remember my mom running after me. I had gone too far again, finding a lone cabin. I remember turned back around to see someone right behind her. I hid behind a bush as I watched it knock her down. I listened to her screams as it pulled her under the deck. I never saw her again." A teardrop slipped down your face again. But a gentle hand wiped it away. You turned to see liquid pools of chocolate gazing at you. Ki's hand cupped the side of your face.

"You won't suffer the same fate, I promise. Speaking of promisises, I, I told you I would never stop chasing you," you were grateful for them turn of subject. He looked down then back up at you, "and I never will. However, knowing how uncomfortable I make you, I'll back off." His hand dropped, and you inwardly mourned the loss. You wanted him more and more with each step he took away from you.

"Don't," you choked out, making him stop and turn around. What were you doing? This was your chance!

However, the chance to rid yourself of his affections did not seem like it would set you free. Much rather, it felt like nailing your coffin shut. "Why?" He asked confused. You could confess, but Thorin would be so angry, he would never forgive you. It was decided, you couldn't ever be with him. You were just going to turn around and say, 'don't completely ruin our chances at a friendship' Or come up with something like it. A chilling wind brushed your hair behind you. Even the wind beckoned you toward him. You looked up at the stars one more time.

Oh screw it.

You whipped around and closed the distance between the two of you. Your lips connected perfectly with his, your eyes shut so you couldn't see the look of surprise on his face. Both of your hands snaked into his hair as you kissed him. He caught on fast and kissed you back, his lips sliding across yours like a dance. His hands gripped your hips as he pressed his body into yours, electricity flying from his fingertips and into you. It was so passionate you weren't sure how you managed to stay standing. Kili backed you up against a tree, it was a friendly nod to the last time you were in this position. Both of you inhaled and exhaled in unison with the other. His lips and body were so warm, you were surprised he hadn't caught fire with the fierce and passionate melding of his soft lips with yours.

Then the kiss turned gentle. He slowed down and his hands loosened their grip. Your hands released the fistfuls of his hair you hadn't realized you took. Instead, they slid down over his his jacket to rest on the cool leather covering his chest. His hands slid up your sides and cupped your cheeks. What once was knee buckling, now felt like something different, something warm, something right. The hot breath from his nose tickled your cheek, and the movement of his lips slowed until he pulled away. Both of you were panting for air as you opened your eyes. You watched his flutter open and you both beamed. You stifled a giggle by covered your mouth with your hand. "Uh--" he said before laughing himself as his hands dropped, "I wasn't expecting that."

The reality of the situation hit you. You let your hands drop as well. "I-I, I can't, be with you."

He stepped back astonished, "why not? Because I am a Dwarf?" He took your hands in his. "Because I am not afraig of how I feel about you, (y/n)." He dropped your hands, "I just wish you felt the same way." He turned and headed back the way he came. You waited until he was gone before dropping to your knees. 

"An interesting scene, no doubt," you heard a light voice to your right. Appearing from the distance was a slender and beautiful figure.

"Lady Arwen," you noted as her facial features could be made out. The moonlight made here glow with an etheral beauty, her cerulean eyes sparkling.

"Tell me why you hesitate from happiness," she commanded as she came to kneel next to you, "is it as he says; is it because he is a Dwarf?"

"No," you breathed, "nothing so stupid. Kili's a prince, and an heir to the line of Durin."

"So you feel you won't receive his uncle's blessing, then," she confirmed.

"Not exactly, his uncle has made it very clear how he feels about me," you mumbled.

She paused for a moment, "Look at me, little one," she said while bringing her hand under your chin. She said something in her tongue as you looked into your eyes.

"I don't speak Elvish," you admitted.

"Thorin Oakenshield does not command your destiny. Nor does he own his nephew's heart. He may be a prince, but your hearts are equal." A soft smile played across her lips as her hand dropped. 

"Are you in love?" You asked, your heart lightening.

She shook her head. "Not yet, knowing me, it won't be someone my father approves of either." She winked and stood up elegantly, making the way you got up look like stumbling. She nodded in farewell and traipsed back through the garden. You felt a lot better after speaking to her, and you only hoped that she would get her happy ending.

You start back towards the halls of Rivendell; there was something you needed to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to say I am SOOOO sorry this took me forever and it isn't even a really long chapter. It just that it's been school and life thingy's. Besides, its my birthday on the 13th!!!! I'm going to be 16 and I am so excited. But anyways! (Got off track) I LOVE YOU GUYS so much and every comment or Kudos warms my heart and makes me squeal with joy :D I promise not to ever stop writing this until it is done. Read on, Ki-lovers!!


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